Prodigy Down
by Nyte Kat
Summary: Completely AU. The SWAT KAT story with Jake as a teenage prodigy and Chance becoming his guardian. How does one go from above and beyond to simply normal in the blink of an eye?
1. Marching Orders

_**Idea based loosely on Seaquest DSV to the effect that there is a young genius serving in an unlikely role. Just going on a whim here. Reviews appreciated.**_

* * *

"Kittens serving in the military." Ann Gora purred seriously, speaking into the camera. "Abuse? Or giving an edge to kittens whose intellect surpass their age? I was taken aback when I discovered that there is a thirteen year old not only serving under Commander Ulysses Feral of our own Enforcers, but that he is in a combat position and has been placed into this position with his own father's consent. The father, whom we must keep anonymous at this time, refused to comment."

* * *

Jake Clawson stared at the television. He shook himself out of his shock when the phone started to ring. Scrambling to his feet, he found it on the table. "Hello," he snipped.

"Jake!" It was Chance. "Are you watching this?"

"Yeah." Jake's voice shook a little. "How'd this make the news?"

"I dunno, kit. But I bet it's got Steele's name all over it." Chance snarled.

Jake's ears flattened against his head. "What the hell is his..." He paused as his phone beeped in his ear. "Let me call you back. That's probably my dad calling now to chew my tail out for something I didn't do."

"Call me back and let me know what happens." Chance practically ordered him before hanging up. The large tabby shook his head and turned off the television. This seemed like the kind of shit that punk Steele would pull just to get ahead of them. He loathed the fact that a kitten outranked him, out shot him... hell, Jake could even out-fly him and he wasn't _that_ great of a pilot. What's worse is that Steele had no idea what kind of a jackass Dr. Clawson was to his son. It was no stroke of luck that the Enforcers were willing to allow a minor into their program. No. There was a huge donation in it for them. Once they saw the dollar signs and then saw Jake's list of achievements, they didn't hesitate to take him on as a prodigy weapons designer and gunner. And if Jake made any mistakes, they were reported right back to the good doctor himself.

Chance was convinced that some form of kitten abuse was going on. Jake often showed signs. He'd flinch when one wouldn't normally flinch. He was extremely self-deprecating. And he'd work himself right into sick leave just to keep from having a bad progress report sent to his father.

Chance shook his head and looked at the time. How long was it going to take Jake to get yelled at over the phone? He paced for a moment before finally deciding just to go downstairs to Jake's dorm and see what was going on. He grabbed his keys and decided to take the stairs. When Chance got to Jake's door, he found it locked. So he sifted through his small collection of keys and found the spare Jake had given him. He frowned when he found the place empty. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Come on kit, you're my partner. I'm supposed to have your back." Chance hung his head, disappointed and more than a little concerned. "If he shows up limping tomorrow, there'll be hell to pay."

* * *

Jake wore his ball cap low over his eyes to hide his lack of sleep. He peeked around the corner of the locker room to see if anyone was there. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he hurried to his locker to get changed into his flight gear. He was running more than a little late but it was worth it to avoid the inevitable questions about the previous night's news report. He'd just started stripping off his civies when a large paw slammed against the locker beside him. Jake let out a startled, slightly feminine sounding squawk before stumbling over his pants and falling on his rear. "Chance! What the hell is your problem!"

Chance glared at Jake for a moment before offering a paw to help him up. "You were supposed to call me last night. Not disappear. What happened?"

"What do you mean 'what happened'?" Jake made quick work of changing, moving swiftly with the practiced ease of hiding any injuries and thankful for his dark fur. It concealed bruises like a charm.

"Where'd you go?" Chance wasn't letting Jake go without answers if he could help it.

Jake stared at Chance defiantly. "Nothing happened. My dad wanted to have dinner so I could explain to him what the heck was going on."

Chance saw his partner and young friend's eyes flicker momentarily into another direction. "You're lying."

"I'm not..."  
"ATTENTION ALL ENFORCERS. REPORT TO YOUR DUTY STATIONS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPORT TO YOUR DUTY STATIONS IMMEDIATELY."

Both kats looked up at the speaker on the wall before darting out of the lockers. "So much for drill." Jake ground out as he ran.

"You mean so much for drilling you." Chance huffed as they reached the tarmac. "I'm not finished with you."

Jake froze, nearly stumbling, just a few feet from their assigned jet. "Wha... what?"

Chance threw his arms up. "I'm not finished bugging you about last night!" He barked. "Now get in!"

* * *

Commander Ulysses Feral replayed the conversation he'd had with his colleague and the Enforcer's biggest benefactor just hours ago. "I want him off the squad and out of the limelight. Anyway you can do it, I will not have him disgracing me like this." Dr. Clawson had demanded. Feral sighed. Furlong and Clawson were his best. Even at only 13, barely a teenager, Feral had never seen anyone hit their mark with such accuracy. And it wasn't just his skills in a jet. That kit was a genius. His smarts were such that he made his own father look something like a grade school kitten making 'inventions' out of clay. He'd hate to see them both go, but it was the only way he could do it successfully. "The Enforcers need the money," Feral reminded himself again before demanding that his two best Enforcers back off and let him take their shot.

* * *

Jake could feel his pulse race and his chest tighten. One would think he was running laps. Instead, he was seated, perfectly still, in front of Commander Feral and his very own father. Chance had already received his formal reprimand. It was Jake's turn and then they would both learn their fates. The slender teen swallowed the tight feeling in his throat and did his best to push the anxiety that was threatening to burst free back down to the pit of his twisted and knotted stomach.

"Disregarding a direct order is a serious offense." Commander Feral spoke with a quiet fire to the young tom and he could tell it was unsettling. "You _are_ aware of this, aren't you?"

"Yes sir." Jake replied quickly, quietly.

"You are also aware that any punishment for disregarding orders goes double for you as your reasons for being here are a little more extenuating than most?" Feral asked, condescendingly.

"Y-yes sir." Jake clenched his jaw shut and willed himself not to stutter anymore.

"Dr. Clawson and I have come to a conclusion. As he asked the Enforcers to take you on, citing behavioral problems and a lack of discipline, he feels that he can't control you the way a parent should. As your commanding officer, it's not my responsibility to coddle you."

Jake winced.

"There seems, however, to be at least one kat whose orders you do follow, as so clearly reflected in your actions today." Feral drummed his claws on his desk for a moment before reaching for the phone. He dialed his secretary. "Could you send Furlong back in here, Diane?"

Jake was still unmoving when the office door opened and his tabby partner came in.

"There. Now that I have both of you, I won't have to go over this twice." Feral smirked. "Furlong, you quite vocally exclaimed your desires to be off the force just a few moments ago when you were seated here. As you recall, I told you that it wasn't a decision you could make. I have come to my decision." The large Commander stood up. "Since, it seems, that young Mr. Clawson here follows your orders before anyone else's, I'm removing him from Enforcer custody and placing him in yours."

"You can't..." Chance started to argue.

"I can." Feral replied. "Dr. Clawson signed over full custody to the Enforcers when we accepted his son into the program. We have complete say over what we do with whomever we control. Now, not only will you both be stripped of your ranks, you will be required to pay off the damage done to the new Enforcer Headquarters, and you will do so by working and living in the Enforcer owned Salvage Yard." Feral sat back down in his large leather swivel chair. He fixed Jake with a cryptic look. "Jacob," he spoke as if he were speaking to a kitten instead of an accomplished scientist and Enforcer. With Dr. Clawson watching his son, it allowed for the stoic commander to offer a sympathetic expression to the young tom. "As you are only 13, I will not let this incident tarnish your record and prevent you from pursuing other avenues in your future... on one condition."

Jake waited expectantly, silently wondering if they could hear his heart beating as loudly as he could hear it between his ears.

"Since you went to an alternative school, you will be required to attend four years of high school and obtain an actual diploma." Feral knew that his colleague wouldn't approve.

"Commander..." Dr. Clawson started to protest.

"I understand your feelings on the matter, Doc, but my paws are somewhat tied. For me to release custody over to Chance, I have to cooperate with kitten services and this is their stipulation. Not mine." Feral explained.

Dr. Clawson scowled at his son but resumed his silence.

"That is all. You have 48 hours to vacate your dorms and turn in any Enforcer property." Feral said with finality. "Dismissed."

Dr. Clawson followed his son out the door. "When you get your things packed, I want a word with you." That was all he said, as the tabby was glaring protectively from a mere two feet away.

Jake shot Chance an apologetic look. "Look, Chance... about all this, I'm..."

"You don't have to say anything, kit." Chance watched Dr. Clawson's retreating back with a menacing sneer. "And you aren't going to see him alone."

"Chance..." Jake started to protest.

"No. You're my responsibility. And I'm not letting you walk into whatever he has waiting for you by yourself. It's bullshit the way he kicks you around and now I'm in a position to stop it." Chance pointed at Jake, his anger abating when he noticed how shaky and jittery he seemed. "Whens the last time you ate anything?"

Jake snorted. "Let's just go get some boxes so we can start packing our stuff up." He shoved his paws into his pockets to disguise the trembling. He felt like he'd just been knocked completely off his axis.

_**

* * *

End of first chapter. Love? Hate? Review.**_

_**NK**_


	2. Taking Measure

_**Once again, folks, this is COMPLETELY alternate universe. I got the idea from a combination of watching SeaQuest DSV and by, once again, getting carded because I still look underage even though I'm creeping up on middle-aged. **_

* * *

Chance Furlong huffed loudly as he stood outside the door to the Clawson household. Jake had begged him to just wait outside, that it wouldn't take that long. Still, he listened intently for any sign of trouble, watching their shadows through the drapes. So far, he'd heard a lot of one sided shouting. "Lay one paw on his fur..." Chance snarled. "I dare ya."

And then he got it, the opening he was waiting for. Even if he hadn't been watching their silhouettes, he would have heard the hit outside. Chance threw open the door and stormed into the parlor.

"Get your filthy paws off him!" The tabby growled, pushing Dr. Clawson away from Jake and up against the wall. "You have no right to touch him!" Chance snapped his his face, showing his full set of sharp teeth. "Jake, get in the car."

"Wha... what?" Jake's voice was quiet and trembling.

"Get. In. The. Car." Chance repeated slowly, not taking his eyes, or paws off the kat that dared to call himself a father.

Jake scrambled clumsily to his feet and darted outside, pausing on the brick steps to listen for Chance.

"You're done with him." Chance whispered. "You come near him again, you show your face, and I'll have you arrested."

"He's my son." The doctor choked out.

"Not anymore he ain't." Chance smirked. "You signed him over to the Enforcers. Remember? And they signed him over to me." He released his firm hold. "I don't wanna see your filthy tail again."

When Chance left the house, he stopped to glare at Jake. "Why aren't you in the car?" He tried to assess his young charge's injuries in the moonlight.

"I... uh... thought you might need backup." Jake tried to smirk.

Chance narrowed his eyes, reaching a paw out to Jake's cheek. The teen jerked away. "Stop." Chance sighed. "I just wanna look."

Jake looked sheepish as he allowed Chance to take in the deep claw marks across the side of this face. "It's just a flesh wound."  
Chance shook his head. "This isn't something to joke about." He sighed. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

In the kitchen in their home above their new place of employment, it was much easier for Chance to gauge the depth of the wounds on Jake's face. Indeed, they weren't deep enough to require stitches. Still, he dutifully cleaned them and patted them dry.

"So now what?" Jake asked quietly, somewhat shocked by the care Chance was taking.

"Now..." Chance cocked his head at the youth. "We get some sleep and check out this school you'll be going to."

"This all seems a little unnecessary." Jake complained.

"Yeah. It does." Chance agreed. "Try not to make all the teachers look stupid, okay?"

Jake chuckled. "No promises there."

Chance bit the inside of his cheek, studying Jake a little longer than what the coppery teen found comfortable.

"I'm... uh... gonna go to bed." Jake started to back out of the kitchen.

"Jake... wait..." Chance fought the urge to catch the kit's arm. "About tonight..."

"I don't really wanna have this conversation, Chance." Jake shot him an awkward look.

"I know, I just... I'm not asking if he's done that before. I'm not stupid. But why now, after all the time he's been doing this shit to you, does he make it so blatantly obvious?"

Jake unconsciously touched his cheek and looked down at the yellowing tile floor. "He'd have someone from Enforcers investigating him if he did this before. The whole situation was weird."

"No kidding..." Chance looked away as well. He really felt like this was something Jake needed to get out in the open, but it was clear that the time wasn't right.

"Goodnight, Chance." Jake said softly, backing out of the kitchen.

"Yeah." Chance replied, distracted. "Goodnight."

* * *

Chance expected to have to pound on Jake's door to get him up. Like most kits his age, Jake wasn't a morning kat. The tabby was surprised, however, to find Jake's room empty... a chaotic mess of unpacked clothing and gadgets... but empty. Confused, Chance looked out the window. "What's he doing?" He asked out loud as he spotted Jake wandering around the junkyard in a pair of torn jeans and a MKC University t-shirt. Curious, Chance darted out of the house, down the stairs and out of the garage.

"Looking for something?" Chance asked.

Jake looked up, a spark in his green eyes. "Chance you've got to check out what I found last night."

"Last night?" Chance gave him a curious look.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep so I was checking this place out." Jake motioned for his muscular friend to follow him back inside the garage. "At first I was looking through invoices to see if there were any work orders we should be aware of before we started towing in kats' cars and fixing them. I was in the office and I heard something like a rat but I couldn't figure out where." The teen led Chance into the office and over to a large shelf. It was already moved out of the way so that Chance could see a door.

"What the heck?" Chance's eyes widened in surprise. "Where's that go?"

Jake's grin took over his face. "_This_ is an underground hangar. I'm guessing it was used during Megawar II and then forgotten. The wiring is at least that old."

"Well I'll be damned..." Chance whistled as he stepped in and looked around the cavernous bunker. Jake had left the lights on, making the years of cobwebs and dust easily noticeable. "I wonder if the Enforcers know about this place."

"I don't think so." Jake pointed to his laptop, which he apparently hadn't wasted anytime plugging in. "They keep a listing of all military bunkers and airbases. This one seems to have escaped that list. It's just the main repair facility for Enforcer vehicles. It's also the dumping grounds for destroyed aircraft and tanks."

Chance turned to look at Jake. "Okay..." This kit was up to something.

"Chance..." Jake exhaled, exasperated that his best friend wasn't getting it. "We have this huge opportunity slapping us in the face right now!"

"Opportunity to do what, exactly?" Chance folded his arms across his broad chest.

Jake gave him his best 'duh' look. "To get back at Feral! He totally screwed us out of catching Dark Kat and then punished us for his mistake! There's more than enough parts out there; we could build our own jet and do it our way and not have to answer for anyone!"

Chance gave Jake a disbelieving look. "You're talking about being vigilantes."  
"Yes!" Jake put his arms up, excited that Chance finally caught on.

"No." Chance replied, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Jake blinked in surprise. He was sure Chance would jump at the possibility to fly again.

"Because you're talking about breaking a hundred different laws." Chance chuckled as he said it.

"You're kidding me, right?" Jake's disappointment was tangible. "What part of 'we got screwed' aren't you getting? You know the ins and outs of fighter aircraft better than anyone! And I can get anything working again. Come on, Chance. You can't tell me you wouldn't do anything to get your wings back."

Chance squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled sharply. "Okay, okay. Let's just..." He shook his head. "Go put on something that's going to make a better first impression and let me think about this. Okay?"

Jake nodded, still clearly hurt that Chance wasn't on board but a little hopeful that the idea still had a shot.

"Kit's half crazy," Chance chuckled as Jake jogged up the stairs. "But..." He looked back down into the abandoned and forgotten hangar. "He might be on to something."

* * *

"I must admit, it's always a shock and a pleasure to have someone with a great academic record enrolled into our school," Mrs. Catsby, a plump, elderly she-kat in a blue pantsuit said from behind the large desk. "You've already got a masters degree in aeronautic science and physics?"

Jake shot Chance a slightly irritated look before he nodded.

"And you're here, this memo says, because you were discharged from the Enforcers and are under the custody of Mr. Furlong... that's you?" She looked at Chance.

"Yes ma'am." Chance replied.

"And, as a stipulation of your expulsion from the department of Kitten Services, you are to complete all four years of high school." She leaned back in her chair, a look of confusion on her face. "Seems like quite an insult to your intelligence."

"Bingo," Jake thought, but he simply nodded his agreement.

"Well, I think the best course of action to take is to put you in advanced classes. You will be required to get the same amount of academic and elective credits as everyone else to graduate. You will be required to take a foreign language. Is there a preference?"

Jake furrowed his brow. "Latin?"

Mrs. Catsby chuckled. "I'm sorry. We haven't offered that in years."  
Jake frowned. He'd taken Latin in college. "What are my options, then?"

"German, Spanish and French."  
Jake winced. "Which one of those is the hardest?"

"German, I hear." She smiled slightly.

Jake looked thoughtful. "Okay. I'll take it."

"Alright." She typed a few things in quickly. "Let me get a hold of your teachers and get a list of required materials. Since the new school year started three weeks ago, you'll be expected here first thing tomorrow morning. First bell rings at 8:00 AM. We follow a block schedule so you will have four classes this semester and four classes next semester."

"What time does he get out?" Chance asked. He would, after all, be responsible for picking Jake up and dropping him off. "Funny," he thought. "How the Enforcers would let a teen fly a plane, but not allow him to get his drivers license early."

"3:15." Mrs. Catsby replied. "If you two gentle-toms will wait here, I'll be right back with that list of supplies." She stood from behind her desk and left her office.

"This really sucks." Jake said, sulking and picking absently at the scabs that had formed over the scratches on his cheek.

"Nothing I can do about it." Chance replied. "That's gonna scar."

Jake glared. "You know, you really don't have to utilize that whole legal guardian thing."

"I wasn't telling you not to pick at it. I was just telling you that, if you do..."

"Yeah. I got it." Jake snapped quietly.

"Wow." Chance's eyes widened slightly. "Moody much?"

Jake rolled his eyes and looked away. He was tired. Exhausted even. He'd had a million things on his mind the night before, and his lack of sleep was obvious by the heavy bags under his eyes. Now, he had to tag along with Chance so they could go 'school shopping', when all he really wanted was to catch a nap and start on some designs for their jet. Sure Chance hadn't said yay or nay on building one, but Jake figured, if he came up with a good enough outline on paper, he'd have the tabby: hook, line and sinker.

_**

* * *

Read, Review, Repeat.**_

_**NK**_


	3. Up In Arms

_**Third Chapter Up. Hope you guys like.**_

* * *

Jake wasn't sure exactly why his stomach was so knotted up. "What have you got to be nervous about?" He thought. Still, he felt positively sick with nerves. The same anxiety he felt in Commander Feral's office was making an encore performance and he hadn't even gotten out of the car yet.

"Nervous?" Chance asked with a teasing smirk as he waited for Jake to get out.

"What?" Jake asked, his voice squeaking a little.

"You know, first day of high school and all..." Chance prodded. He was quickly learning that living with Jake was far different from simply working with him and hanging out during free time. The kit was as shut off as they came.

Jake gave Chance a perplexed look before grabbing his bag from between his feet and getting out of the car, shutting the door loudly.

Chance winced as his "have a good day" was effectively cut off.

Jake gripped the straps of his backpack as he looked down the long hallway and swallowed back the thick feeling in his throat. "Suck it up, Clawson." He told himself. "An Enforcer wouldn't be scared of a bunch of high school students." Still, as he watched his apparent peers talking loudly, pushing each other around, giggling, and tossing a football, he felt overwhelmed with the realization that he didn't really understand how a teenager was supposed to behave. Jake unconsciously took a step backwards, bumping into something. Slowly, he turned to find himself staring at a thin, but well built graying tom with a military style haircut.

"Sorry..." Jake looked sheepish. "I was just... ah..."  
"You're new here?" The tom asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Jake couldn't help the surprise.

"Call it a gift." The tom smirked. "You can call me Mr. Thompkins. I'm the freshmen principal."

"Oh." Jake said. "Great," he thought.

"First day, then? Need any help finding your classes?" Mr. Thompkins asked kindly.

"No. I... I think I got it." Jake hoped he didn't look or sound as nervous as he felt.

"Alright. Stay out of trouble." The principal joked as he walked off.

"Right." Jake sighed, looking passed the authority figure to the double doors leading back outside. The first bell shrilled loudly, causing him to jump. "You can do this," he told himself. "It's just school. You're a college graduate and a trained Enforcer. This is cake."

* * *

"You must be Jacob." A thin, very short elderly she-kat with light brown fur and a tight bun of gray hair on the back of her head smiled at Jake. She had hauntingly blue eyes and a wide smile.

"Jake," He corrected more on instinct than any real problem with being called 'Jacob'.

"Wonderful! There is already a Jacob in this class. I was hoping you wouldn't mind going by that." She chirped happily. "I have a seat already assigned to you, but I'd like you to wait until everyone is seated so that I can introduce you."

"Um..." Jake felt a wave of panic crash over him. What did she intend to tell them about the new kit? That he was a failed Enforcer? That he already had a college degree and had just barely began to hit puberty? "You can skip the introductions."  
"Nonsense!" She laughed. Jake struggled to remember what her name was. Then he caught her teacher's badge. "Klim," it read.

"Mrs. Klim, I..."  
"Ms," she corrected.

"_Ms_. Klim," Jake cleared his throat. "I really think that it's in my best interest to keep how I ended up here a bit of a secret."

"Oh, but it's such an impressive tale!" Ms. Klim gushed moments before the final bell for the start of the period buzzed throughout the school. Jake frantically searched the desks for a vacant one before his English teacher had the chance to gut him in front of the whole class.

"Good morning, students!" She smiled brightly. "I'd like you all to welcome our newest student! This is Jake Clawson. He comes to us from the Enforcers, having been discharged as a Lieutenant, as well as a recipient of a masters degree in physics from our own Megakat City University. He did all that, however, without attending high school. Which he is now here to do. I expect you all to be welcoming of Mr. Clawson. You can take that seat in the second row over there." She finished by pointing at an empty desk near a she-kat with a contemptuous look in her eyes.

"How old are you?" She whispered when he sat down. "You look like you're ten."  
"Thirteen," Jake whispered back as he pulled out his books and prepared to at least look like he had an interest in the class.

She made a snorting sound and then recognition lit up her brown eyes. "You're the boy they were talking about on the news."

Jake winced. "Yeah."

She gave him a knowing, almost cynical smile.

Jake shuddered and once again reminded himself that this was going to be easy. By the end of the period, he'd found himself constantly looking out the window instead of at the teacher. It was a struggle just to remain focused when he felt like he was watching someone teach preschoolers their alphabet. "Advanced my tail," he muttered when the bell finally rang and he could put his unnecessary book and notebook back into his book bag.

"So what happened?"

Jake paused in his rush to get out of the classroom and looked back at the she-kat that recognized him from the news story. "What happened with what?" He already knew what she wanted to know.

"Why were you discharged?" She sidled up next to him and walked beside him. "Was it because of all the heat coming down on the Enforcers for allowing a minor in active duty?"

Jake paused. He hadn't considered that as part of the equation. It was certainly something to think about. "No." He replied. "My partner and I got discharged for disobeying an order given by a superior officer."

"Enforcers disregard orders all the time." She snorted. "Kind of funny that they discharged you for something like that on the coattails of a pretty incriminating news story."

Jake fought to keep the shock off his face. "What's your name?"

"Miranda Steele." She replied.

This time, Jake couldn't keep his expression neutral. "Any relation to Lieutenant John Steele?"  
"He's my brother." Miranda confirmed. "And that's Lt. Commander now."

Jake clenched his jaw shut tightly while he processed this new information. Finally, he leveled her with an icy glare. "I don't suppose your little theories on why I'm here have anything to do with his loose lips, would it?"

Her eyes widened and she huffed, tossing a loose strand of dirty blond hair back over her shoulder. "John did say you and your 'partner' were jealous of him."

"I think you've got that confused." Jake sneered.

"Whatever." Miranda rolled her eyes and turned on her heel.

"What a bitch," Jake mumbled before hurrying to find his next class.

Jake got the same treatment throughout the rest of his classes, although his science teacher, Mr. Teele, treated him more of like a god and put him on a pedestal the moment he entered the classroom. He was required to take gym, which was aligned with his lunch period. Jake skipped the uninviting meal of pale hot dogs in wrinkly buns with soggy fries, settling on just an apple and a bottle of juice while he slipped outside to sketch out a few ideas for the jet he and Chance were going to build out of scrap. Once again, he reminded himself that, once his friend saw the plans, he'd be on board.

Gym was a life saver, or perhaps a mind saver, for the teen. There was a simplicity in physical activity that he enjoyed. It wasn't about learning anything new, unless you didn't understand the importance of daily exercise. Which, as Jake looked around, he wondered if some of his fellow students weren't missing out on the point of this whole gym thing. Required Freshmen course or not, they certainly needed it.

Jake's last class of the day was another required course for his grade level: Freshmen Composition. A writing class, teaching the basics of writing essays and reports. Jake felt weary already. He'd written several theses between his alternative education and college. Not only was this boring and unnecessary, in his opinion, it was downright stupid.

* * *

Chance had been anxious all day. But he'd been busy enough to keep distracted. The little out of the way garage actually got quite a few calls for tows. Apparently they were cheaper than the more local places in the city. He'd had his work cut out for him right up until time to wash the grease off his paws and go pick Jake up from school. "Wait til I tell him about our big customer!" Chance said to himself as he started his car and prepared himself for school zone traffic.

He'd had a bit of a wait, but Chance recalled Jake's last class of the day being on the other end of the school. As students spilled out of the school, the tabby allowed himself to feel a bit nostalgic as he compared the kits now to when he was in high school. Finally, he saw Jake's reddish brown head, only moments before it disappeared under a backwards cap.

"How'd it go?" Chance asked, a little excited.

Jake glared at him for a moment before putting his seat belt on. "Rule number one," he grumbled. "Don't talk about school."  
Chance returned the glare. "I'm serious."  
"Me too." Jake replied. "What we really need to talk about is how double screwed you got because of me."

Chance's glare turned to look of confusion. "Come again?"

"Lt. _Commander_ Douchebag Steele's baby sister is in one of my classes."

"He got promoted?" Chance's eyes widened. "That snake!"

"Yeah well, mini-Steele pointed out to me that it's quite a coincidence that we got booted for disobeying an order just a day after it gets leaked to the news that their letting a kitten shoot down criminals." Jake sighed. "So, good ol' dad probably bribed Feral to take us down that way I'd get booted before an investigation could be made. You just happened to get caught in the fall out."

"Son of a bitch." Chance whispered.

"So... yeah..." Jake looked out the window. "Sorry for costing you your job."  
"Whoa, hey." Chance looked up sharply. Jake's tone went from pissed off to self-deprecating in milliseconds. "You're not blaming yourself for this. If your dad wasn't such a bastard, you wouldn't have been in that position anyway. And if Feral's going to let someone with a big wallet push him around, I don't want to be apart of his Enforcers anyway. So just... quit with the beating yourself up already."

Jake's shoulders sagged a little more and he remained looking out the window.

"So guess whose car I towed in today?" Chance changed the subject.

"I dunno. Who?" Jake played along, all the while still staring out at traffic.

"The beautiful Deputy Mayor."

Jake's ears flicked forward with interest and he looked at Chance out of the corner of his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh." Chance grinned. "Her water pump went out on her. I gotta tell ya, Jake. I thought she was pretty from a distance. But up close and personal... damn."

Jake chuckled halfheartedly.

"High point of my day." Chance went on.

"I bet." Jake replied softly.

"Come on already!" Chance slammed his paws against the steering wheel. "I'm not just pretending to be interested, Jake. Really. How was school?"

Jake turned his head just enough to give Chance the most hateful look he could muster. "I already told you, I'm not talking about it."

"That bad?" Chance's ears flattened against his head.

Jake closed his eyes and inhaled a calming breath. "It was fine, Chance. Boring, stupid, and monotonous, but fine. There. Happy?"

Chance gave Jake a concerned look. "For now. Got any homework?"

"Nothing that won't take me five minutes to do." Jake brushed it off as they pulled into the salvage yard. "I got something else I wanna do first." His eyes drifted from the garage to the piles of scrap.

_**

* * *

You know the drill.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	4. Going To Pieces

_**This one is a long one. I got a little caught up. I know I use the name "Rita" a lot for Chance's mother. After my Dreams series, I've just built this image of her in my mind and she sticks. So, because I'm a creature of habit, when Chance's mom is mentioned, her name shall be Rita. So mote it be. Heh.**_

_**NK**_

* * *

Chance pinched the bridge of his nose and willed his headache to go away. He shot a scathing look at the open doorway in the office leading down into the hangar. Jake was making a few 'adjustments' to the wiring and the layout so that it would be a perfect setup to build their own variation on an F-14 Tomkat. Chance sighed. It was getting late. Really late, and he'd asked Jake twice if he'd just at least get his homework done and _then_ worry about working on this whole vigilante thing. The problem was, however, that the young tom wasn't taking his guardian seriously. Chance didn't want to be a bad kat or anything, but he was responsible for Jake's actions now. He had an obligation to make sure Jake was taken care of. Finally, he just sucked it up and went into the hangar.

Jake sat Indian fashion on the poured concrete floor, a tangled mess of wires in his lap, their ends leading into an open access panel and into the wall. He was stripping the wax coating off the ends when a large paw gripped his shoulder. The teen gasped and jerked his head around with breakneck speed. "Chance!" He gasped. "You can't sneak up on kats like that!"

Chance allowed himself a satisfied smirk. "Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings."

Jake narrowed his eyes at his friend. "I wasn't aware I needed to keep my guard up down here."

Chance looked around and shrugged. "Ah well, dark, damp corners." He pointed to where some light from outside was coming in a slightly open hatch. "Perfect place for snakes."

Jake looked suspiciously over in the unlit section and then back at Chance. "There aren't any snakes in here."

"You don't know that." Chance kept on.

"Chance." Jake sighed. He wasn't going to let him try to scare him. "What do you want?"

"It's almost eleven. And, unless you're telepathic, you haven't even started on your homework."  
"Here we go..." Jake mumbled under his breath.

"And you haven't eaten. Plus... _it's almost eleven._ You need to go to bed."

Jake dropped the wire strippers and looked up at Chance. "First of all, it's telekinetic. Second, I can't do both my homework _and_ go to sleep. And third... I'm not hungry."

Chance folded his arms over his chest. "Telekinetic, telepathic... it's all the same." He argued. "And I don't care if you aren't hungry. You need to eat. So go. Eat and do your homework and then go to bed."

"Sure." Jake replied, picking up the wire strippers again. "Just as soon as I finish this."

"No." Chance took the tool from Jake's paws. "Now."

Jake looked at Chance with disbelief. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." Chance replied with a scoff. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I didn't really figure you to go all psycho-legal-guardian on me just because Feral and a bunch of stiffs at social services said you had to." Jake, clearly aggravated, pushed the wires off his lap and stood up. "I can manage just fine without you bossing me around."

"I'm not bossing you around." Chance tried to explain.

"Okay. 'Jake do your homework', 'Jake, go to bed'... What do you call all that?" Jake mocked Chance in a deeper voice.

"You know what?" Chance shook his head. "Fine. You can manage just fine on your own? Go right ahead. Just remember that when you get into trouble, it falls back on me and then we both get in trouble."

"We're already in trouble." Jake kicked the wires back into the access panel and started for the stairs leading back up to the garage.

"Exactly. We don't need to make it any worse." Chance sighed, hoping that, by going inside, Jake was conceding this one.

"Are you going to eat or what?" He asked after following Jake into their home.

"Nope." Jake replied. "I'm going to bed."

"What about your homework?" Chance reached for Jake's arm to stop him. What he got instead surprised him.

Jake firmly caught Chance's wrist and twisted it. "Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me."

"Wha... Jake... I was just trying to get your attention..." Chance trailed off.

Jake looked from Chance to the tight grip he had around his wrist and then abruptly let him go.

"Jake, what just..." Chance was cut off as Jake hurried into his room and slammed the door shut.

* * *

Jake slid down until he was on the floor, his back pressed against the door, and let out a long breath. He hadn't meant to snap, and he knew that Chance wasn't going to hit him. What had just happened? "I'm just tired," he told himself. "I just need to go to sleep and forget about this whole thing." He dropped his head into his paws and pressed firmly into his eyes. There was a soft knock on his door.

"Go away, Chance." Jake groaned. He waited, expecting Chance to try and say his piece through the door. Instead, he could hear the larger kat's footsteps moving away and down the hall. "Finally," Jake mumbled. "He gets it." He stood up and looked from his bed to his books. "I'll do it before class." The lithe teen dropped tiredly onto his bed before wriggling out of his clothes down to his underwear. For a long while, he laid in the dark, staring upwards, just turning the whole situation over in his head. He wasn't deliberately trying to make Chance mad, but he just couldn't understand why the kat was trying so hard. "He should be pissed off at me," Jake thought. "If it wasn't for my dad, if it wasn't for _me_, then Chance would still be an Enforcer. I have to get this jet built so he can have his life back." Energy renewed by need, he got back out of bed.

* * *

Chance looked anxiously at the time. Jake said he could manage just fine on his own, but it was getting really hard to believe. Especially since he wasn't out of bed yet. Finally Chance gave up waiting and rapped his knuckles against Jake's door. "Come on, kit. Time to get up!" He waited, listening for a response and was just about to go in when he heard the front door open. Curious, Chance went back towards the kitchen to find Jake coming in, wearing old, dirty clothes and sporting a greasy smear across his furry face.

"You know you have to be at school in thirty minutes, right?" Chance tried not to sound upset.

"What?" Jake blinked. "Oh. Yeah. I'll just grab a quick shower." He toed off his shoes and headed towards the bathroom. True to his word, Jake simply scrubbed off the grease and then hurried from the bathroom to his room with a towel around his waist, his short stature causing it to nearly brush the floor.

"I got the hydraulic lifts under the launching platform to work." Jake bragged triumphantly as he followed Chance out the door.

"Uh huh." Chance replied without interest. "And, in that time, you got your homework done?"  
"Um... yeah." Jake lied. "I'll get it in class," he thought.

Chance's brow furrowed with frustration. "Go ahead and get started on it now."

Jake looked surprised.

"You're a terrible liar." Chance added.

"Right." Jake looked guilty as he pulled his books from his bag.

Chance was both shocked and a little impressed that Jake finished before he pulled into the student drop-off area.

"I told you this was a waste of my time." Jake smirked.

Chance watched Jake get out of the car and heaved a sigh, suddenly feeling far older than twenty-seven and hoping that his young friend wasn't shooting himself in the foot by not caring about school. As he watched Jake enter the school, an idea struck him. "Time to give mom a call," he said out loud.

* * *

"Jake!" Mr. Teele snapped loudly, slamming his yard stick against the teen's desk.

Jake sat up quickly, violently pushing his books off his desk, and emitting a startled yelp.

"If you are going to sleep in my class." The orange-ish Maine Coon pushed his glasses up his nose. "Then do so without snoring... or drooling."

Jake unconsciously wiped the back of his paw against his mouth while looking around, taking in several amused looks. His ears burned with embarrassment as his paw mopped up a bit of drool lurking on his cheek. "Sorry," he said meekly and somehow forced himself to stay focused until the bell rang.

Jake ate alone, outside, as he did the day before on his first day and then dragged through gym all the way to Freshmen Comp.

"Alright, I need some adjectives." Mr. Purkins looked around expectantly. A pudgy kit with black fur raised his paws. "Nothing dirty." The pudgy kit put his arm down.

Jake allowed himself an amused chuckle along with the rest of the class.

The speaker above the marker board let out a high pitched chime and a slightly muffled female voice came through. "Mr. Purkins, could you send Jacob Clawson to the office to go home, please?" It was the school secretary  
"Right away Mrs. Jenkins." Mr. Purkins pointed his dry erase marker at Jake. "You sir, are the weakest link."

* * *

Jake looked around the office for Chance and then walked up to the receptionist. "Um, Mrs. Jenkins.." He leaned over the desk to find her on the floor looking around.

"Oh!" She stood quickly. "Sorry, I lost an earring. What can I do for ya?"

"You called me to go home but I don't see..."

"Jacob Clawson?"

Jake turned around to find a very tall, dark gray she-kat in a dark blue pantsuit.

"I'm Susan Sharpclaw, your social worker." She extended a perfectly manicured paw. "I'm sorry to pull you out of class, but I was unable to catch up with you before you started school. It's important that we speak."

Jake felt his heart still for a moment. "My so..social worker?" He dumbly shook her paw.

"Yes. As a stipulation of your guardianship being reassigned, Kitten Services dictated that you should complete four years of high school." She put her paw lightly on his back and escorted him out of the office. "I've arranged for Chance to meet us at my office."

"He couldn't just pick me up?" Jake asked worriedly.

"He was in the middle of..." She scrunched her face into a confused expression. "Towing in a clunker..."

"Oh." Jake frowned, pausing outside to look at an expensive looking sedan with dark windows. Curious, he walked around the back and noted the government tags. "You don't have a badge or something do ya?"

"Smart kit." Susan smiled and pulled out a flip-fold wallet and opened it.

Jake peered closely at the identification and sighed. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

* * *

Chance's mother Rita had worked with Kitten Services for a very long time, assisting them in handling sick and injured kittens after being removed from unfit homes. In her lifetime of work, she'd acquired many friends. So when Chance called her asking for her help in reeling Jake in a little bit, and helping him see how serious this situation was, she made a few calls. Now he sat in Susan Sharpclaw's meticulously organized office, waiting for her to arrive with Jake. "I don't want to lie to him or trick him," Chance had said when he'd spoken to her before.

"Jake's in the system," she'd replied. "He should have spoken with someone from this department sooner. Trust me, he won't be fed any lies. In fact, there are quite a few things regarding his situation that we need to go over."

Chance felt his gut tighten as he replayed the conversation in his head. He'd meant for this to just make things easier, to get Jake to stop butting heads with him. Now he worried that it might make things more stressful. He scrubbed his paws down his face and groaned into them, looking up when the door opened.

"What's going on?" Jake whispered as he sat down.

Chance shook his head and started to say that he didn't know when Susan came in behind Jake and closed the door.

"Good afternoon, gentle-toms." She smiled pleasantly and sat behind her desk, simultaneously opening her briefcase and removing a thick folder. "Jake, this is your record."

"Record of what, exactly?" Jake leaned forward to try and get a better look.

"Your record of everything from medical to education and the Enforcers." Susan explained. "And now, your high school record and a record of anything else that happens while you're in Chance's care."

Jake shrugged and sank back down in his seat. "And this was worth pulling me out of school because...?"

"Courtesy of a glitch in the system, an appointment wasn't set up as soon as this decision was made. If you don't want to end up in a foster home, then it is important that we have this conversation now." Susan said simply.

Jake mouthed a quiet "oh" in response and sank back down in the uncomfortable chair.

"There are a few stipulations regarding your education." She shuffled some papers and removed a thick sheaf stapled together. "First and foremost is that, because you've already graduated college and have proven that you're way smarter than the average 9th grader, we don't want you to just skate through this thinking that your achievements won't matter, or that if you just barely pass that it won't hurt you. So you are required to maintain at least a 3.5 or higher GPA and you must complete all your assignments on time. You are excluded from gaining valedictorian or salutatorian status, but you will still be held accountable for your grades. If you drop below the given grade point average or fail to meet any of the listed requirements, Chance's guardianship will be drawn into question and you risk being removed from his care."

"That's completely unfair." Jake interrupted. "None of this is his fault. You shouldn't hold him accountable for what I do."

"Regardless of what you feel, Jake." Susan sighed. "You're both involved in this together. And, whether you like it or not, you are a minor. You do what I say and what he says as well as what your teachers say. And if you have a problem with any of that, you come to me. So, unless you _want_ to end up in the system and possibly with someone who doesn't have your best interests at heart, I suggest you comply with these guidelines."

Jake struggled for a moment to find anything to call her on, a loophole, something. "Fine." He sighed. "What else?"

"I spoke with Chance earlier. He told me you had a complicated relationship with your father." Susan's voice dropped from a business tone to a sympathetic one. "Could you elaborate on that?"  
Jake gave Chance his iciest glare. "No," he replied simply.

"If you feel that it's better you spoke to someone more qualified..." Susan stopped when Jake chuckled darkly. "Care to explain what's so funny?"

"Nothing at all." Jake hissed, shaking his head. "Are we done here?"

Susan sighed. "Almost. I will need both of you to sign your understanding and that you agree with the guidelines you're expected to follow."

Jake quickly and sloppily signed his name and stood up. "I'll wait for you outside," he said to Chance before leaving, letting the door slam behind him.

"I told you he wouldn't be pleased." Chance sighed as he signed his half.

"I rarely see anyone leave my office happy." Susan commiserated. "Say hello to your mom for me."

"I will." Chance stood up and shook her paw. "Thanks for your help, Sue."

"Do your best, Chance." She offered. "If he gets out of line and you feel like you need me to scare him back, you give me a call."  
"I'll keep that in mind." Chance chuckled as he was leaving.

* * *

Jake was leaning against the car, his arms folded across his chest and a scowl that belied his youth. The look in his eyes was lethal. "What'd you say to her?"

Chance shook his head. "Exactly what she said, Jake. That your relationship with your dad is complicated. She asked me about your parents. What was I supposed to say? I don't know anything about your mom. You've never said anything about her. And I wasn't going to say that I thought your dad was an asshole, that he was perfectly happy using you as a punching bag. I wouldn't abuse your trust like that."  
Jake's ears wilted and some of his contempt abated. The fire in his eyes diminished and he looked at the ground. "Oh."

"Oh." Chance half-laughed. "Just get in the car."

Jake winced at the heat in Chance's words as he slowly got in. After several long painful moments of silence, he cleared his throat and muttered a quiet "I'm sorry" while looking in the opposite direction.

"I'm not out to be the bad kat, Jake." Chance momentarily looked away from the road to look at the kit riding shotgun. "And you might think that I don't have a clue or that I'll never understand, and I might not. But I do care."

Jake sucked on the inside of his cheek, still feeling a mix of confusing emotions. "Why?" He finally asked.

"Why?" Chance almost choked on the word. "Jake, I don't understand _why_ I care. It's... crud, Jake, you're like the little brother I never had. I saved your tail from probably some of the worst hazing I've seen. I've turned down nights at the bar with toms my own age because it's more fun to watch a movie with you or play video games than to go out and get stupid drunk. I can't just answer 'why', Jake. All I can say is that I care."

Jake shook his head, trying to clear it, trying to make sense of what he just heard. Nobody just cares. He'd learned that the hard way. You didn't go to college at age ten and believe that kats simply cared for the sake of caring. But then he tried to rationalize why Chance's opinion mattered, why it comforted him and scared him all at once.

"You alright?" Chance asked when Jake had remained silent for a long time.

"Yeah." Jake replied in a near-whisper. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Chance grunted, unconvinced and continued to drive back to the Salvage Yard they called home.

_**

* * *

So, I'm feeling a bit under the weather. And, in the process of this, I think my fever broke because now I'm covered in sweat and feeling really drained. I hope I didn't hallucinate and type anything strange. If so... too bad. =P**_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	5. Playing House

Chance flipped through the sheets of college ruled notebook paper, every now and then pausing to look at the sleeping kit on the couch. "Huh," he huffed out quietly as he took in very detailed sketches of jet from nearly every angle. "Jake."  
"Hmm?" Jake groaned into the couch cushions.

"Time to get up." Chance shook Jake's leg.

Jake remained still for a moment longer before slowly pushing himself into a sitting position. He blinked tiredly and shook his head to try and clear the fog. "What's going on?"  
"I just looked at these." Chance handed him the thin stack of papers. "And I gotta say, at first, I thought you were being a little ambitious, but this looks... doable."

"Ye of little faith," Jake snorted. "It's totally doable." He watched Chance for a moment, waiting for his official okay. "So... are we going to do this or what?" He finally asked.

Chance sighed. "Okay."

"Yes!" Jake cheered.

"_But!_" Chance held up a paw, smirking a little as Jake's expression turned to disappointment. "But, we need to keep in mind that we have other priorities. I've got a garage to run or we're living in the dark and going hungry on top of not paying Feral off. And you have school. So... unless it's Friday or Saturday, no more than one or two hours of work on it a night, and only after your homework is finished."

Jake glared at Chance.

"It's the only way this is going to happen, Jake." Chance sighed. "Remember what Susan said?"

Jake sighed loudly. "Yeah. Fine." He frowned. "Your way or the highway, right?"

Chance laughed. "Something like that." He fixed Jake with a curious stare. "How is school, by the way?"

Jake shrugged. "Boring. Repetitive. What's a synonym for uninteresting?"

"Make any friends?" Chance asked.

Jake snorted. "Not unless you count _Miranda Steele_," he said her name with disgust. "And she's really more of a nuisance than anything."

"Ah give it time." Chance sank back into his chair and picked up the remote.

"I'm not worried about it." Jake pulled his legs up underneath him so that he was barely taking up a single cushion on the couch.

Chance gave him a disgusted look. It was both creepy and worrisome how the teen could make himself seem so small and yet appear so comfortable doing it. "Four years is a long time to go without anyone but me to keep you occupied."

"Who says I'll need someone to keep me occupied?" Jake smirked. "I've already got my after-school activities worked out."

"Right. Homework and then fighter jet."

"It needs a name."  
Chance chuckled. "Can't we work that out while we're building it? A kat has to get to know a machine before he can give it a name."

"Yeah." Jake agreed. "So we're gonna start this weekend, right?"  
"We'll see."

"Chance." Jake pouted. "Come on. We're wasting time. What if Dark Kat decides to destroy the city tomorrow?"  
Chance laughed loudly. "Then we're already too late. This isn't a weekend job. It takes a while to build a jet, especially out of junk with only two pairs of paws."

"I know that." Jake's eyes settled on the television, watching as Chance flipped through the channels. "Oh go back!"

Chance gave Jake a surprised look but backtracked a channel. "What the heck is this?" He narrowed his eyes at a gruesome looking clown with blood dripping down its face.

"'Kat Eating Clowns From Another Galaxy'. It's got the kat from the first 'Ci-Kat-As' in it." Jake explained as one of the clowns attacked a naked she-kat, ripping off one of her exposed breasts.

Chance winced. "You sure you should be watching this? Might give you nightmares."  
"Whatever." Jake chuckled distractedly, eyes already glazing over as his interests drifted elsewhere.

"Alright." Chance stood up. "I'm leaving you to it. What do you want for dinner?"

"Uh huh." Jake replied, jaw hanging slightly open and eyes wide with awe despite the cheesy special effects.

* * *

"And then Demeter bore Zeus a daughter. Her name? Anyone?" Ms. Klim looked around hopefully. As usual, Miranda Steele's arm was raised highly above the others. She eyed the rusty colored youth in the seat beside hers, his head dipped low, brow furrowed in intense focus. "Jake." She'd hoped to catch him not paying attention.

"Nestis." Jake replied in a bland, disinterested tone.

"Idiot," Miranda scoffed. "Persephone."

Jake rolled his eyes and looked up. "Same thing."

"No. It isn't."

"Uh... yeah it is." Jake looked insulted. "It's a euphemistic title. During the..." He paused for a moment while he racked his brain. "400's BC I believe, the name Persephone was taboo. She was the terrible Queen of the Dead. It wasn't safe to speak her name allowed. So she was ascribed the name Nestis, which is associated with the element water."

"Ms. Klim," Miranda sighed, almost whining.

"Actually, Miranda..." The late middle aged teacher blinked in shock. "He's correct. For the sake of our lesson, however, we will call her Persephone. Thank you, Jake, however, for your insight." Ms. Klim returned her focus to the notes she'd been scrawling on the board.

Jake smirked at Miranda and whispered. "Now who's the idiot?"

"Because I'm not chock full of useless knowledge?" She seethed. "Bite me, Clawson. At least I didn't screw up the Enforcers."

"My Enforcer career will never be as screwed up as your face." Jake rebuked in a moment of intense immaturity.

"Jerk." Miranda hissed.

When the bell rang, Jake was the first out of his seat. Ms. Klim had other plans, however.

"Jake, Miranda. Would the two of you wait just a moment?"

Jake shot Miranda a scathing look and sighed. She tossed her blondish hair over her shoulder in a haughty fashion.

"Yes, Ms. Klim?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"I'd really appreciate it if the two of you would at least try not to disagree with each other." Ms. Klim said tiredly.

Miranda huffed. "Ms. Klim," she gasped. "You can't expect me to just ignore his attitude. He thinks he's so much better than the rest of us."

Jake looked down at her clenched fists and rigid posture and chuckled.

"See?" Miranda's cheeks burned red with frustration beneath her light brown fur, almost giving her a fiery glow.

"Okay." Mis. Klim sighed. "This is what I'm going to do. We've got a month and a half before mid-term exams. In that time, I will expect the entire class to have projects completed, each one responsible for a report on a different Greek or Roman God or Goddess. I want the two of you to share the responsibility."

"What?" Jake's smug look melted away. "I'm not working with her."

"I don't recall giving you a choice." Ms. Klim blinked. "I really want to see you take an active role in this class."

"I do take an active role in this class." Jake replied, ears falling backward and tail twitching with aggravation.

"You're right. You actively offend Miss Steele's intelligence and then spit juvenile insults at her." Ms. Klim admonished in a stern but quiet voice before turning to look at Miranda. "And you bait him. You deliberately instigate these... these pointless arguments." Beginning to get flustered, she took a calming breath. "I'm challenging you two to learn to cooperate. This will count for 20 percent of your mid-term grade."

Jake groaned loudly.

"Great." Miranda huffed. "Thanks a lot." She draped the strap of her messenger bag across her body and all but stomped out of the classroom.

"The pleasure's _not_ all mine." Jake snarled.

* * *

Jake was just about positive that Miranda wasn't in his lunch period when he finally spotted her with a group of she-kats, all just as snobby looking and perfectly groomed as she was. He hesitated for a moment before approaching her.

"What do you want?" She tilted her head upwards so that she could somehow still look down her nose all the while having to look up at him.

"Cut the crap, Miranda." Jake glared at her. "I'm not here to make nice. The only reason I came over was because we have an assignment and I'm not about to risk my GPA dropping just because I think you're an ugly bag of used kitty litter with the equivalent in brains."

"Wow, Mira," One of her friends said. "He _is_ a jerk."

"Shut it." Jake pointed at her, eye nearly twitching with the effort it required to even approach her. "I have no interest in impressing any of you. Here's my number. Whenever you climb down from your throne and want to get started on this, let me know. I'm sure I have a term paper somewhere that I can dumb down for you." With that, he turned around and resumed his usual lonely lunch, leaving Miranda in a state of anger induced shock.

"Hey." It was the pudgy black furred kit from Freshmen Comp. "I heard what you said to the Mighty Miranda. That was pretty awesome in a kind of douche-bag way."

Jake chuckled, not really looking up. "There's a lot more where that came from." Deep down, he knew he was only channeling his anger at her brother and taking it out on her.  
"Remind me not to piss you off." The kit replied.

Jake looked up. "Alright." Suspicious, he looked back and forth around the usually vacant sidewalk along the picnic area. "Is there something you want?"

"I was just..." He paused. "Forget it."

Jake watched him turn and start to go. Feeling a little bad, he stood up. "Hey, your name's Justin, right? You're in my fourth period."

"Yeah." Justin turned back around, looking kind of sheepish.

"You throw out some wild topics in that class." Jake smirked.

Justin shrugged. "It's nothing. So..." He faltered. "You really were an Enforcer?"

Jake winced. "Bad news travels fast, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" Justin grinned. "That makes you just about the most interesting kat to ever go to this school. I'm surprised you aren't already Mr. Popularity."

"Not really interested in making friends." Jake frowned.

"Why?" Justin sat down beside Jake.

"Why?" Jake laughed. "I don't exactly see you hanging out with anyone."

"Ah... well... I normally do. My lunch got switched. All my friends are on third lunch."

Jake frowned. "So... you just saw me cutting down... what was it you called her?"

"The Mighty Miranda." Justin replied.

"Right. And you just decided, since I was sitting here by myself that I was in need of conversation?" Jake gave him a dark look. "I don't need your pity."

"Whoa. Chill out, kat." Justin held up his paws defensively. "Just thought, since it looked like nobody'd bothered being nice to the new kit that I'd make the effort. Obviously, that was a mistake. My bad."

Jake frowned and manged to look somewhat sheepish, but he didn't apologize. Instead, he grunted and returned his attention to the sketchbook in his lap. He was just about to look up and see if there was something else Justin wanted when he finally got up and left. Jake watched him go, a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why was he being so mean? Sure, Miranda was kind of a snob. But Justin? He was just trying to be nice.

Fourth period was awkward. Jake caught himself staring over at Justin on several occasions. He'd even managed to work out a halfway decent apology in his mind. When the bell rang, however, he simply shoved his notebook into his bag and hurried out of the classroom.

Chance was waiting in his usual spot, a tired and slightly frazzled look on his face.

"Hey." Jake nudged his arm when he got in. "Long day?"

"You can say that." Chance laughed, waiting for Jake to buckle in before putting the car in drive. "How was school?"  
"It was okay." Jake said, looking out the window. "I've got some stupid group project to do, and Ms. Klim thinks it's a great idea for me to have to work with Miranda."

"Steele's sister?" Chance asked.

"Bingo." Jake breathed. "I'd blow her off and do it on my own except it's 20% of my grade for the half."

"Lame." Chance said.

"Yep." Jake agreed, slouching down in the seat for the remainder of the ride home.

* * *

Chance looked up from Callie Briggs' car and through the garage. Jake preferred to do his homework in the lobby for two reasons. The first was that it was kind of noisy. Chance had found that Jake really didn't like the quiet. He always had to have some sort of background noise. Between the sounds made in the garage and the quiet droning of the news channel, there was always something. The second reason was the conversation. Every now and then Chance would take a break and they'd talk between working and homework until the shop closed. Today, however, Jake seemed distracted. In fact, he was lying on his back on the beat up lobby couch, staring vacantly at the ceiling. Chance was just about to find out what was bugging him when he heard tires on the gravel outside. "Right on time." He sighed, seeing the Mayor's limo.

Jake heard the sound as well and sat up, twisting his upper body to look out the door just in time to see a long creamy blond leg coming to a stop in a pink high heeled pump make its appearance. He swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in his throat. Soon the first foot was joined by its mate and then the door shielding the rest of her body slammed shut. Jake could have sworn her hips were swaying to the beat of his pulse. She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and pushed her glasses up her perfect little nose.

Callie opened the heavy glass door leading into the waiting area and looked around. She smiled politely at the kitten staring blankly at her. "Hi there."

He blinked dumbly. "H-hi."

Callie chuckled. "Is... um... is Chance here? He's supposed to have my car fixed."  
The kit shook his head slowly. "Uh uh."

Callie looked confused and turned in the direction of the shop just as the handsome mechanic she'd been looking for came out.

"Miss Briggs." Chance nodded politely, clearing his throat to get Jake's attention.

"What?" Jake asked absently, his eyes stuck somewhere between the first and second button on the deputy mayor's blouse.

"Finish your homework." Chance said sternly.

Jake jerked his head around. "What?"

"Homework." Chance repeated.

"Oh. Sorry." Jake ducked his head, embarrassed.

Callie clenched her jaw to keep from chuckling and followed Chance into the office. "So... is that your son?"

Chance looked at her with wide blue eyes. "My what? Do I look that old?"

Callie looked sheepish. "Well, no. Just... the way you were, you know, interacting.. I thought..."

"He's my brother." Chance simplified.

"Oh." She laughed.

"Sorry." Chance chuckled too. "Teenagers."

Callie blinked. "Wow, I must really suck at reading kats. I could've sworn he was younger."

"Yeah, I tease him all the time about his baby face." Chance joked. "He's probably going to look like he's ten until he's thirty."

"Poor thing." Callie smirked. "So how much do I owe you?"

Chance watched Callie drive away before turning to glare at Jake. "Gawk much?"

"What?" Jake asked, his voice cracking just a bit.

"If you're going to undress someone with your eyes," Chance suggested. "Don't make it so obvious."

Jake winced. "I'll work on that."

"On your own time." Chance grimaced.

Jake's expression grew serious. "Hey Chance." He bit his bottom lip hesitantly.

"What's on your mind?" Chance dropped down onto the old couch and pulled one of Jake's notebooks into his lap. He couldn't help but shake his head at how impeccably perfect the notes appeared in spite of Jake's horrible, _horrible_ handwriting.

"Okay..." Jake screwed his face up with confusion. "So..." He closed his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Chance was suddenly worried.

Jake heaved a deep breath and opened his eyes. "I was a total jerk to this kit that was trying to be my friend today."

Chance narrowed his eyes. "That's it?"

Jake frowned and jerked his notebook out of Chance's paws. "What do you mean 'that's it'?"

"You had this look like someone flushed your goldfish while it was still alive." Chance looked relieved.

"Oh." Jake's frown deepened. "I've never had a goldfish."

Chance glared. "So, you feel bad for being a jerk?"

"Yeah." Jake drummed his claws on his notes.

"So apologize." Chance replied.

"It's not that simple." Jake sighed.  
"Why not?" One of Chance's eyebrows arched upward.

"It just isn't." Jake glared.

"Sure." Chance shrugged. "If you're a wuss."  
"I'm not a wuss." Jake defended.

"Whatever." He stood up. "You wanna get to work on this jet or what?"

Jake quickly shoved his homework into his backpack and jumped up. "About time."

_**

* * *

I hope you guys are settled in for the long haul. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	6. The Hard Fall

_**A sick day. Because I'm having a sick day. Bleh.**_

* * *

"Hat off in the building."

Jake whipped his ball cap off and shot the Mr. Thompkins an apologetic look as he scrubbed a paw through his tangled hair and sniffed loudly, grimacing as a thick glob of mucus slid down the back of his throat. With nowhere to spit it out, he swallowed it and fought the urge to gag. A shiver ran down his spine as the action aggravated his sore throat. "Should've just listened to Chance and stayed home," he grumbled as he made his way to the library. His English class was spending the period in there so that the students could complete the necessary research for their projects. Naturally, Miranda was waiting impatiently. Jake snorted as he considered their unlikely partnership between overachievers.

"What's so funny?" She regarded him with a look of disgust as he wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"Nothing." Jake dropped into one of the hard-backed wooden chairs and sluggishly removed a thick three ring binder from his bag. When he looked up, Miranda was looking at him with a disturbing expression: concern.

"What?" Jake glared.

"You look terrible." She said simply before returning her focus to the heavy encyclopedia open in front of her.

"I must be wearing a mirror." Jake choked out before erupting into a fit of coughing.

Miranda jerked the book away. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to cover your mouth?"

Jake wasn't sure if he was feverish, but he felt his neck and face grow suddenly hot. Her words flustering him to a point where he couldn't think of a biting retort.

Miranda grinned triumphantly. "What've you got on Skiron?"

Jake, still reeling from her barb at his mother, gave her a blank look. "I thought I was covering Livas."

Miranda groaned and put her head in her paws. "No. We went over this yesterday. Remember? When we divided up the Gods of the minor winds. I gave you Northwest while I took Southwest..." She gave her partner a hopeful look, sighing when he simply gazed back at her through bloodshot, watery eyes. Since they were working together, Ms. Klim had assigned them the Anemoi; the Wind Gods. "Jake," Miranda hissed when he seemed to just zone out into his own world.

"Sorry." Jake shook his head. "You're right. Um... Skiron..." He forced himself to focus, painstakingly sifting through his notes. Not trusting Miranda to do a thorough job, he'd taken notes on her half as well and silently blamed that for his confusion. "Skiron... Skiron... ah. He was... uh..." He squinted at his sloppy writing. "Depicted as a bearded kat... tilting a cauldron and... er... representing the coming winter." Jake sniffled again, followed by a more than obvious shudder. "It's going to be a long day," he thought.

* * *

Chance dragged a paw through his hair, streaking oil in it. He'd just finished dragging the huge shell of a fuselage down to the hangar and had just enough time to get back upstairs and get in the car to get Jake and come back to work when the phone rang. His shoulders sagged. "Megakat Repair and Salvage," he huffed into the phone, grabbing a pen as soon as the elderly she-kat said she needed a tow. "Where is that, exactly?"

* * *

Jake was a little surprised to find that Chance wasn't waiting for him when he got out. "Figures," he groaned and prepared to drop down to a sitting position on the sidewalk and wait when he saw Justin come out of the building. It had been two weeks since he told Chance about how mean he'd been, and he still hadn't apologized. Adjusting, his cap and wiping his paws on his jeans, Jake made his way through the other 'car-riders' to his classmate. "Hey." His voice came out thick and kind of scratchy.

Justin looked up to see who had spoken to him and then looked away. "What do you want?"

"I... uh... guess I got off to a bad start, huh?" Jake asked before coughing into his fist and sniffling.

"You could say that." Justin replied, all the while sizing Jake up, wondering if he should be wearing some sort of health-hazard protection gear.

Jake nodded tiredly and offered a crooked smile, holding out his paw. "Sorry."

Justin looked down at it and then back up at its owner and shook his head. "I forgive you, but I'm not touching you."  
Jake looked sheepish. "Yeah. I don't blame you."

A horn honked and they both looked up to see a 90's model sport utility vehicle.

"That's my ride." Justin said. "I'll see you around."

"Yeah." Jake replied and watched him leave.

When Chance finally made it to the school, Jake was the only one left waiting for a ride. He was sitting with his back against the brick facade of the school, head bowed, features hidden by his cap. Not having to worry about holding up traffic, Chance put the tow truck in park and got out. "Catching a nap?" He asked, dropping down onto his haunches and placing a paw on the teen's shoulder and gently shaking him.

Jake lifted his head just marginally. "Chance..." He swallowed. "Where the hell have you been?"

Chance shrugged. "Working? Some old dame called right when I was about to come get you. I didn't think it was going to take that long. Apparently something else was going on and traffic got bogged down. Had to come get you in the truck."

Jake finally looked beyond Chance and groaned. He hated riding in the tow truck. It had zero shocks and smelled like mildew. "Awesome."

Chance stood up and held out his paw. "Come on."  
Jake stared at the large appendage and couldn't help the weak laugh that came out as he recalled how hesitant everyone had been to get near him, yet, here Chance was, practically demanding it.

"What's so funny?" Chance frowned.

"Huh?" Jake looked up. "Nothing." He shook his head and allowed his friend to pull him to his feet.

"Come on." Chance placed a steadying paw between Jake's shoulders. "I know a shortcut. We'll get home in no time."

* * *

Jake hadn't been nauseous prior to getting into the tow truck. By the time they pulled into the yard, however, he was as green as he was the first time he flew with Chance in the Enforcers. "Never again," he moaned.

"But I got us home in record time." Chance defended.

Jake simply glared at him. "Jerk," he whimpered, positive that, if the cough he felt building in his chest came out, it was going to cause his stomach to betray him.

"You alright?" Chance asked, watching his surrogate drop onto the couch in the waiting area.

"Just wake me when we're closed," Jake moaned into the old cushions.

"Sure, kit." Chance smiled grimly before getting back to work.

* * *

"_Here kitty, kitty, kitty." A voice in the dark cackled. "I'm going to find you and eat your little heart!"_

_Jake gasped as a pair of red gloved paws wrapped around his throat and squeezed tightly. _

"_Nothing tastes better than the blood of a kitten!"_

_Out of the darkness appeared a clown with a hauntingly familiar face. _

"_D-dad.." Jake gasped and wheezed. "St-stop.."_

"_I'm going to rip the flesh from your bones and devour your worthless soul!"_

Jake sat up with a gasp that quickly turned into a painful bout of coughing that caused his ribs to ache. He was shaking and a fine sheen of sweat had dampened his fur and caused his school clothes to stick to his smallish body.

Having heard the loud hacking, Chance came out of the garage. He patted Jake on the back. "You alright?"

Jake tried to suck in a breath, wheezing painfully. Between the stress on his already painfully sore throat and the deep coughing, tears streamed down his cheeks. The comforting pressure moving in slow circles behind his lungs helped and he looked at Chance with watery eyes. It was then that he realized that his guardian was saying something but his ears were too stopped up for the words to make it through. He tried to swallow, hoping the action would pop his ears. Instead, it was like trying to down razor blades. Jake touched his throat, willing it to stop hurting.

Chance unthinkingly carded his claws through Jake's sweaty mop of hair and was somewhat surprised when he leaned into the touch. "Come on," he urged the teen to his feet. Jake swayed unsteadily for a moment before allowing himself to be ushered upstairs into their home above the garage. "You _definitely_ aren't going to school tomorrow," Chance chuckled as he guided Jake into one of the kitchen chairs and grabbed the phone.

Jake groaned and buried his head into his arms, dissolving into another bout of coughing too loud for him to make out who Chance had called, but nearly positive it was Rita. By the time he'd settled back down, Chance was sitting beside him, head resting in his palm. He was practically petting Jake with his free paw, repeatedly pushing stubborn strands of reddish brown hair back away from his eyes. "You with me?"

Jake blinked tiredly at him and nodded slowly. His ears had cleared enough to where he could hear, even if it was a bit muted.

"Good. Ma's about to close the clinic. She said to go ahead and bring you up there and she'd check you out before she goes home."

Jake weakly coughed, wincing and shivering all at once, and stood on shaky legs.

* * *

Rita Furlong was just telling her receptionist good night when she heard the bell on the door. Lisa paused.

"It's Chance and Jake." Rita assured her.

"Oh." Lisa sighed as the two kats came in. "With all the break-ins around here, I was afraid for a moment." She felt silly. "Hey Chance." She batted her eyes at the muscular tabby before acknowledging Jake with a surprise and a wince. "Oh, you poor thing." She fussed, scratching the teen between the ears. "You look just awful."  
"Don't worry, Lisa." Rita assured her. "I've got him covered." She put a firm arm around his shoulders and led him back to one of the rooms. "Aside from the obvious, you must be feeling bad. Chance said you didn't even fight him on this."

Jake frowned. He didn't remember hearing Chance tell her that.

"Alright, off with the shirt and onto the table." Rita patted the paper covered exam table.

Jake hesitated for a moment, his stuffy head struggling to comprehend the simple demand. Slowly, he peeled off his long sleeved shirt and eased himself up into a sitting position.

Rita prepared to press the stethoscope against his back when she noticed faint scars through his fur. Lightly, she ran her paw over top of them, soliciting a shiver from her patient. Her ears fell flat in disappointment. The markings were confirmation of the things her son had told her about Jake.

* * *

Chance walked Lisa out to her car while she explained to him the break-ins to local clinics and pharmacies. He shook his head, and for the first time, couldn't wait to get back to fighting crime. He locked the doors behind him as he went back into his mother's clinic and found her somewhere in the back exam rooms.

Rita was leaning against an empty exam table, a worried look on her face.

"Where's Jake?" Chance asked, spying his shirt nearby.

Rita sighed. "I was trying to look at his throat, but it's so tender, the tongue depressor gagged him."

Chance winced. "So what's the prognosis?"

"Well, he's got a significant fever and his sinuses are draining down the back of his throat. It looks like a sinus infection that's quickly turning into a upper respiratory infection." Rita smirked. "I've got a needle with his name on it when he gets back. And he won't like we're I've got to stick him. In the meantime." She scratched her son's cheek. "You've still got some of that moonshine your grandmother gave you for Christmas?"

Chance nodded.

"Give him one of Grammy Furlong's super cures to get him through tomorrow until you can get this prescription filled." Rita handed him a slip of paper with a few bills folded up underneath it. She knew money was tight for her son now, especially now that he was responsible for a kitten.

Chance was pocketing the paper and the money when he heard Jake coughing loudly in the hall before he came in, looking a bit worse for the wear. "Feel better?"  
Jake shook his head. "No," he gave Chance a sulky look before turning to look at Rita. "Are you done torturing me?"

She smiled brightly. "Not yet. Drop your pants."

"What?" Jake blinked. "No."  
"Yes." Rita was already removing the cap from the needle.

Jake's eyes widened. "Definitely no."  
"Jake." Chance said firmly. "Just do it so she can give you the shot and we can go home."  
Jake clenched his jaw and tried not to look ashamed as he undid his jeans and allowed them to fall just enough for Rita to have a good shot of his butt cheek. She paused as she recognized more scarring and shot a venomous look at Chance. He tilted his head so he could see and clenched his jaw tightly. Without any more hesitation, she injected the teen, smirking a little at the hiss of surprise and slight pain.

"Done." She chirped and Jake quickly pulled his pants back up, giving her a mock-hateful glare. "Stop pouting. That's gonna help."

"Right, because all the problems in my head start in my tail," Jake grumbled and put on his shirt.

"No." Rita gave him an affectionate squeeze around the shoulders. "It's because you're so skinny, the only place I don't risk hitting bone with a needle is your tush."

Jake glared at her again, this time out of the side of his eyes. He felt a pang of sadness when he thought about how much his mom would have liked Rita. What he could remember of her, anyway, from when he was really young. His cheeks burned a little more when she planted a kiss on his lightly furred forehead.

"Get him home." Rita told Chance before giving him the same maternal treatment. "Call me tomorrow. Let me know how he's doing."

* * *

Jake groaned as another fit of coughing washed over him. Still, whatever Rita'd given him did relieve most of the pain in his head, throat and chest. He watched Chance move around the kitchen.

"What're you doing?" He asked quietly, voice weak from the strain.

"Temporary cure until I can call in the antibiotics mom wants you to take." Chance stretched the reach in the back of the top cupboard and pulled down a large glass jar with a screw on lid. He filled an 8 oz glass about a third of the way and then got some honey and squeezed it in. Then he poured in a little bit of lemon juice and stirred it all until the contents of the glass were almost an amber shade. "Drink this."  
"What is it?" Jake sniffed it and recoiled. "Jet fuel?"

Chance laughed. "You know, it might be capable of that. Just trust me, okay? Drink that and in about ten minutes, you're going to be feeling 120% better."

"OR... it will poison me." Jake reasoned.

"Eh... I say it's about 50/50 on the poisoning thing. But it won't kill you." Chance grinned.

Jake lifted the glass and prepared to sip it.

"It's best if you just down it like a shot." Chance suggested.

"Right." Jake glared at him. "Because I do shots all the time."  
"Just... don't think about it, relax your throat." Chance coached.

Jake grimaced and attempted to drink it the way Chance suggested. He got half of it and shuddered, gasping as liquid fire singed his esophagus. "What the hell is this?" His eyes were wide with shock.

Chance laughed loudly. "You have to drink all of it."

Jake sniffed loudly, his sinuses suddenly much clearer. "Okay." He took a deep breath and downed the rest of the drink, slamming the glass down with a gasp. "I'm telling Rita that you made me drink kerosene."

"Hey. Doctor's orders." Chance grinned. "Old family recipe. You should probably get ready for bed because it'll knock you on your tail without any warning."

"Right." Jake pushed himself away from the kitchen table.

* * *

Chance was getting ready to turn in when there was a soft knock at his door. "That stuff should have had him unconscious by now," he mumbled before opening the door. Jake leaned against the door frame, wearing a pair of pajama pants and nothing else, his fur mussed as if he had been sleeping and a look in his eyes that showed he wasn't completely awake.

"What's wrong?" Chance asked quietly.

"Can I jus' talk to you for a minute?" Jake slurred, brain muddled from the homemade cough remedy and sleep.

"Yeah." Chance moved out of the way and watched Jake carefully walk through his room to the large bed in the center, arms slightly outstretched for balance. He couldn't help but grin. "Stuff still works like a charm," he thought. "What's on your mind?" He asked, sitting down next to the tired thirteen year old.

"My dad keeps tryin' to eat my face." Jake fell backwards and draped an arm over his eyes.

"Wh-what?" Chance frowned.

"I keep having this dream where this clown is choking me and it's my dad and he's trying to rip off my face." Jake explained.  
"I told you not to watch that movie last week." Chance reprimanded, slightly amused.

"Yeah." Jake agreed, tiredly, breathing beginning to even out.

Chance bit his lip, realizing Jake had just fallen asleep. He tried to turn over what had just happened in his mind. Did Jake really just come to him after a nightmare? Shaking his head, Chance pulled the blankets up around the kit and crawled into bed. "Goodnight, Jake." He said before hitting the light.

* * *

Jake groaned and rolled over, relaxing into the welcoming coolness of untouched sheets. He blinked sleepily and looked up at the slowly turning ceiling fan. Ceiling fan? He grimaced. "I'm such a kitten," he thought. "Running to Chance after a bad dream. He probably thinks I'm weak." Still, he thought, Chance had let him stay. And judging by the state of the sheets on the opposite side of the bed, he hadn't slept in the living room. "Nothing I can do about it now," Jake mumbled and rolled onto his stomach, pulling Chance's pillow close and over his head.

It wasn't much later when Chance came in with a plate of food and a glass of juice. He set it on the table by the bed and sat down. "Jake," he pulled the pillow away from the kit, surprised to find him awake beneath it. "How're you feeling?"

"Besides ten kinds of stupid?" Jake pouted.

Chance chuckled. "If that's in reference to you coming in here last night, I don't think you're stupid for it. You can blame it on the alcohol if you want."

"That sounds good." Jake agreed. "And I do feel better."  
"Amazing what a whole night's sleep will do." Chance scrubbed his paw through Jake's here. "Think you can managed some poached eggs on toast?"

Jake tried to sniff out the food, but his nose had returned to it's prior state of stuffiness. "I am kind of hungry." He realized as he tried to sit up that the achy feeling of being sick had set in.

"Don't get crumbs in my bed." Chance pointed at him. "I'll be pissed if you do." He got up.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked, wincing at how needy he sounded.

"Gonna pick up your drugs. Unless you wanna ride with. I can wait until you eat." Chance shrugged, trying to show Jake that he didn't think any less of him if he wanted to go.

"Um..." Jake ducked his head. "Yeah. If... if that's okay."

"Sure." Chance squeezed his shoulder. "I'll be downstairs doing the books. Just come down when you're ready to go."  
Jake nodded and reached for his breakfast. He stared down at the toast and eggs and then looked back up at the empty doorway. He wanted to ask Chance why he wasn't mad. Why he was just so willing to take care of him when he'd been told so many times he wasn't worth the effort.

_**

* * *

So upper respiratory infections suck. And antibiotics give me some strange dreams. My husband tells me it's really the fever, but I've had a fever without taking any medications and didn't have the weird dreams. So I'm blaming the antibiotics. You can blame them too for this chapter. I had to project my pain onto someone else. Sorry Jake. Hope your lungs don't hurt as bad as mine. **_

_**Read, Review, Repeat.**_

_**Nyte Kat **_


	7. The Long Road

_**This one is kind of short and just really filler to keep things going. My apologies. **_

* * *

"Why can't we just make a computer generated presentation?" Jake balanced his laptop on his outstretched legs, typing furiously, already working on the project his own way while he cradled the phone between his head and shoulder.

"Because _everyone_ is doing that." Miranda hissed in his ear. "Nobody really does anything paws on anymore. We should get back to basics and actually _make_ a presentation."

"That's too artsy." Jake complained. "Not my style."

"Not your style?" Miranda scoffed. "You spend half the time sketching air planes! It won't kill you to draw something halfway related to English class."

"First of all, they're fighter jets. Not just air planes." Jake defended. "Second, my answer is still no. You wanna go all hippie-barefoot-tree-hugging artist, fine. You do it your way, I'll do it mine and we'll just have two presentations."

"That's not the way this is supposed to work." Miranda growled. "I'm not getting a bad grade because you refuse to cooperate."

"I'm not refusing to cooperate." Jake argued. "I'm so sick of everyone telling me I have to do things their way. I'm not budging on this."

"What are you talking about?" Miranda sighed. "You always do this. You say something completely unrelated and change the subject and end up getting what you want." She sighed. "You know what? Fine. We'll just do this on our own and present them together."

"Fine." Jake huffed. "Bye." He pressed the off button before she had a chance to say anything else. "Miss two days of school and all of a sudden she's the boss." He sniffled, still trying to work through the remnants. "Screw that."

* * *

It wasn't long before Chance was closing up the shop. "So I didn't get a chance to show you what I found a few days ago." He locked the doors. "You done?"

Jake shut his laptop. "For now." He stood up and stretched. "What is it?"

"It's down in the hangar." Chance looked excited.

Jake made haste following him into the office and downstairs. "Whoa!" He darted over to the fuselage. "Chance... this is in near perfect condition!" He ghosted a paw over the dented gray metal.

"Those dirt bags that dump the truckload of trash on our doorstep every morning, brought this in the other day." Chance beamed. "And I found these babies while you were at school today." He walked over to a tarp and quickly removed it, revealing a pair of large turbine engines.

Jake walked around them slowly, inspecting with a critical eye. "These might work for the VTOL if I can get them to rotate." He bit his bottom lip firmly, working it out in his brain.

Chance furrowed his brow in thought. "That's a lot of weight for just two turbines. We're going to need at least four to push it up."

"Yeah." Jake scratched the back of his head. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"So I was thinking we need a different approach to taking down thugs like Dark Kat." Jake said as he worked to get the engines working.

"Like what?" Chance asked, elbows deep in dirty, greasy parts right beside the teen.

"The Enforcers use simple weapons: lasers, bullets, explosions." Jake paused to wipe his face with his sleeve. "We need to be more specific in our attacks. Special weapons to take out special criminals. Dark Kat has a huge technological lead on the Enforcers. I'm positive we can close the gap."

"Special weapons and tactics," Chance slowly turned to look at Jake. "SWAT."  
Jake's eyes widened and he smiled. "The SWAT Kats. That's perfect!"

"Any ideas for these weapons?"

"We should aim to take our enemies down in a more civilized manner." Jake dove back into his work. "And we need to be resourceful. Since we can't exactly order machine gun rounds, I was thinking of something along the lines of a Gatling gun that fires cement. And... and what if we took a taser and modified it into a missile?"

Chance frowned. "That could work, but I think I'd need to see it in action first. What about paw to paw combat?"

Jake grinned. "Aside from your brick walls-for-fists and the martial arts training I took in the academy?"

"Yeah." Chance looked up. "That."

"That's a surprise." Jake looked back down. "Already in the works."

Chance gave him a suspicious look. "When have you had the time to work on something else?"

Jake looked up briefly and then back down. "Ah... well... you know... science class is really boring. As long as I'm not sleeping in his class, Mr. Teele doesn't really care what I'm doing."

Chance shook his head. "You sure about that?"

Jake looked confused. "Yeah. Why?"

"I got a call today. He wants me to come in for a conference."

Jake groaned. "Seriously? Did he say why?"

"Nope. Just that he wants to talk about how you're doing." Chance removed his paws from the turbine. "Let's call it a night. We've got the whole weekend to work on this."  
Jake complied, mind turning over what he could have possibly done to make his teacher feel like he needed to talk to Chance. It wasn't like he didn't complete his assignments.

"Go ahead and get cleaned up." Chance nodded towards the concrete stairs. "I'll finish up down here."

Jake nodded and left Chance to his own devices down in the hangar.

* * *

Chance wasn't surprised to find Jake already working on their jet the next morning. In truth, he was never surprised when he found Jake's bed empty and barely slept in. It probably saw more use when he was sick than it had since they'd moved in.

"So why is it," the tabby said, setting a bowl of cereal on the cluttered work bench. "That you never sleep?"

Jake leaped down from his perch on top of the assembled fuselage. "Who said I never sleep?" He dug into the sugary sweet breakfast item with all the gusto expected of a growing teenager.

"Aw come on, Jake. You can't expect me to believe you weren't down here the moment you were positive I was sawing logs." Chance had his own bowl of cereal, which he enjoyed at a much more reasonable pace.

"Doesn't mean I didn't sleep." Jake glared at him, letting his spoon clank loudly against the ceramic dish. "Why does it bother you so much?"  
"When I was 13, Ma had to literally drag me out of bed, especially on the weekends. It's Saturday morning and you've already made more progress than I did on my own last night. I just wanna know why you do it." Chance didn't look up, having found that sometimes making eye contact with Jake when asking him a serious question was the equivalent of holding a gun to his head. It spooked him.

Jake shrugged. "First of I'll, I'm going to be fourteen next month. And I'm positive that I'm far more mature than you were when you were my age. Which leads me to my second point." He sat the bowl down and picked up a socket wrench and began to absently twirl it around. "My brain goes mach ten sometimes. I can't sleep through that."

"Your parents never..."

"My dad..." Jake cut him off with an icy glare. "Had other priorities. He was too busy to worry about my sleeping patterns. Besides, Enforcers had a curfew on me. Remember? Half my designs came from pacing around my dorm at two in the morning."

"What about your mom?" Chance pried.

Jake dropped the wrench loudly. "She's dead."

"What was she like?" Chance tilted his slightly up.

Jake quickly scooped up the wrench. "I don't wanna talk about this." His tail swished almost violently behind him as he walked back over to the evolving jet.

"Right." Chance sighed. "It's gonna be a long day."

* * *

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Chance whooped loudly over the roar of the engines from inside the shell of the cockpit while Jake tweaked with some of the connections. They coughed and sputtered to a stop and then the teen pulled himself up to sit behind Chance. "Alright so we've got some turbo powered engines and most of the makings of an F-14 Tomkat."

"Not bad." Chance grinned and scrubbed a greasy paw through Jake's sweaty fur.

"Ugh." Jake jerked his head backwards.

"Let's go get cleaned up and get some dinner." Chance slid out from the cockpit. "I think we ought to paint it black and red."

Jake scrunched his nose. "Black and red?" He shook his head. "Black maybe, but red isn't very stealthy."

"Yeah but its one of those colors you associate with fear and stuff." Chance suggested.

Jake chuckled. "You read too many comic books."

"And you read too many physics books." Chance retorted. "It wouldn't hurt ya to stop acting so grown up all the time."

"Is that you telling me to act immaturely?" Jake smirked. "And can I have that in writing?"

"I'm just saying," Chance shrugged. "You're thirteen... almost fourteen... you've got a reprieve from your life as an Enforcer and weapons designer prodigy. You should take advantage of it. Enjoy it."

Jake snorted. "I don't exactly have a huge desire to lounge around in my pajamas watching Scaredy Kat on Saturday mornings."

"Something wrong with that?" Chance looked defensive.

"Not at all." Jake grinned. "I just feel like I'm more mature than that."

"Have you _ever_ had any fun in your life?" Chance narrowed his eyes at Jake.

"Of course I have." Jake scoffed. "Despite what you might think, I _enjoy_ building stuff."  
"Not that kind of fun." Chance rolled his eyes. "I like flying but it's different. I'm talking about senseless fun. The kind where you just shut your brain off and go with it."

Jake shook his head. "I don't understand what you're saying, Chance."

"You ever go to the fair?" Chance paused at the door leading into the garage.

"The fair?" Jake choked out.

"Yeah." Chance sighed. "You know, rides and games and stuff?"

"I know what the fair is." Jake snorted.

"Good." Chance smirked. "You're not half as naive as I thought you were. Have you ever been?"

Jake's ears flattened. "No."

"Why am I not surprised?" Chance shook his head. "I saw the flier in the paper. Next week the fair will be in town. We're going."

Jake shrugged. "I got dibs on the shower."

"Don't let me stop you." Chance teased, following him up into their apartment.

_**

* * *

Kind of a bullshit chapter. My bad. I'm working up to better stuff. **_

_**Nyte Kat.**_


	8. Through The Fire

_**Good ol' fashioned angst right here. And the longest chapter so far. Enjoy.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_

* * *

Jake paused halfway through the combination on his locker when he spotted Justin talking to a she-kat. She was just a hair taller than he was with fur the color of snow and dreadlocks that came down to her hips. Jake couldn't really make out her face, but, from his view, she appeared to have the markings of a leopard. She laughed, slugged Justin on the arm and they both began walking his direction. Eyes widened, Jake quickly turned back to his locker and jerked it open just as they reached him.

"I'll see you later, Justin." She purred in a slightly accented voice before walking off. Jake leaned backwards to watch the way her tail seemed to dance behind her as she walked away.

"Who is that?" He whispered.

"That?" Justin pointed. "Oh that's just Suri. She's one of my friends. She was just saying that her lunch period got switched too."

"To ours?" Jake blinked.

"Yeah." Justin grinned.

Jake slammed his locker shut, still tracking Suri's movements through the other students as she moved away. Standing on his toes to get a better view of the exotic looking girl, he somehow missed the wall of steel moving in his direction until he rammed into it.

"Watch it punk!"

Jake stumbled as he was forcefully shouldered back into his lockers. "You watch it!" He snapped, feeling the sharp sting of torn flesh caused by a sharp corner on the old metal storage units.

"What are you doing?" Justin whispered in his ear. "That's Lonnie Hooktail. He'll rip you apart with his teeth!"

Jake snorted. "I'm not scared of anyone named Lonnie."

"You got a problem with my name, freshmen?" Lonnie, who towered over Jake, leaned down so that he was eye level.

Jake scrunched up his nose in disgust and moved his head back as far as the lockers behind him would allow. "Not entirely. I'm just confused with the origins. Is it a cross between Donna and Lorie? Or Laura and Connie?"

Justin slowly backed away, wincing as the bully fisted Jake's t-shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"You've got a smart mouth."

"Thanks." Jake was unflinching. "I'd return the compliment, but I don't think you've got a smart anything."  
Lonnie lifted his fist. "I'm gonna enjoy beating your face in."

"You better make that first one count." Jake warned in a near whisper. "You won't get a second."

"What're you gonna do, shrimp?" Lonnie spat in his face.

"A lot more than you think." Jake's eyes narrowed into slits, oblivious to the ring of students watching, waiting for the fight to start.

Lonnie wasted no more time. He snarled, pulling Jake forward and then slamming him back against the lockers again, watching his head smack against the metal before nailing him hard in the stomach. He let Jake fall to the floor with a gasp. "Whatcha got to say now?"

Jake sucked in a sharp breath. "Thanks."

"Huh?" Lonnie blinked, confused. Moments later, he found himself on the floor, dazed.

"Alright! Break it up!" Mr. Thompkins came jogging down the hallway, followed closely by the junior class principle, Mr. MacFurgal and the senior class principal Mrs. Clawington. "Who started this?"

"It was Lonnie!" Justin said bravely. "Jake bumped into him and he flipped out."

Mr. Thompson watched the group of onlookers scatter and found Lonnie Hooktail laid out on the floor and Jake Clawson leaning against the lockers, clutching his stomach. "Someone help him up." He pointed at Lonnie. "I want both of you with me in Mrs. Catsby's office."

Jake took his backpack from Justin. "Thanks," he winced as he shouldered the bag.

"I... uh.. I totally would've had your back..." Justin offered with a slight grin.

"Sure." Jake returned the smile and then frowned when it dawned on him that he was probably going to be in trouble. "Chance is going to be pissed."

"Chance?" Justin frowned.

"My brother." Jake rubbed his arm where he'd hit the edge of the locker previously, finding his shirt had torn and his fur was sticky with blood. "Aw." He frowned. "I liked this shirt." It was a shirt supporting the Megakat City Growl, the city's premier hockey team.

"Move it, Clawson." Mr. Thompkins barked without much heat.

* * *

Chance paused halfway through removing the bolts holding in a transmission on an old Malibu and listened. "Crud," he moaned, hearing the phone in the office ring. Quickly, he extricated himself from underneath the car and hurried to catch it before the caller hung up. "Megakat Repair and Salvage," he huffed breathlessly into the phone.

"Chance Furlong, please." A somewhat familiar voice chirped in his ear.

"Speaking." Chance cradled the phone so that he could wipe some of the grease off his paws in case he need to write something down.

"This is Mrs. Catsby, Jake's principal."

"If this is about my conference with his teacher today, then I haven't forgotten." Chance looked at the time to see if he'd lost track. It wasn't even lunch yet.

"No." Mrs. Catsby chuckled. "Not quite. It appears that Jake was involved in a fight with another student. I need you to come in."

Chance nearly dropped the phone. "Jake what? _My_ Jake?"

"Yes." Mrs. Catsby sighed, clearly irritated.

"I'm on my way." Chance ended the phone call and made record time cleaning up.

When he got to the school, he was led into the main principal's office where he found Jake sitting in one chair, a rather large, athletic looking kit sitting in another and two other teachers standing behind them.

"Sorry to pull you out of work, Mr. Furlong." Mrs. Catsby looked apologetically at the tabby in greasy coveralls.

Chance shook his head and shrugged, not really sure of what to say. "Just tell me that Jake didn't start this."

She smiled. "I have witnesses saying he didn't. However." Her smile slipped away. "Two wrongs don't make a right and I can't punish one without the other."

Jake looked like he was about to argue his side. As he opened his mouth, Mrs. Catsby held up a claw, arching her eyebrows in warning. His jaw audibly snapped shut and he sank back in his seat with a sulk. "Jake's been more than vocal about how his actions were purely self-defense. I have other witnesses that have told me he baited Mr. Hooktail here."

"Baited?" Chance asked.

Mr. Thompkins cleared his throat and held up a notepad. "A young she-kat in the hall at the time heard Jake tell Lonnie, _after_ Lonnie had pinned him against the locker 'You better make the first one count because you won't get a second.'"

"That's hardly baiting." Chance folded his arms over his chest. "Who swung first?"

"That's irrelevant." Mrs. Catsby replied, irritated.

"No it isn't." Chance unfolded his arms and pointed at Jake. "With all do respect, Jake's a trained fighter. You can't let someone back him into a corner and then expect him to just let the snot get beat out of him."

Lonnie, who was holding an ice pack to the side of his head, looked sharply at Jake. "_Trained fighter_?"

Jake nodded. "Second degree black belt in Jujitsu. I wasn't baiting him. I was giving him a warning."

"Regardless." Mrs. Catsby stood up. "Fighting will not be tolerated in my school. Lonnie, this is your second offense this year. Two weeks suspension and you will be on the bench for the rest of the football season. Jake." She pursed her lips in thought. "I'm only giving you two days, but they will count against your attendance and you will get a weeks detention when you return. Mr. Furlong, Mr. Teele has agreed to have a substitute watch his class for the remainder of the period so that you may speak with him while you're here. Lonnie, wait for your mother in the lobby."

Jake gave Chance a sheepish look as he stood up. "Sorry about all this."

"Don't sweat it, kit." Chance put his arm around Jake's shoulders, frowning when he felt the torn sleeve. "Did he do this?" He physically turned the teen so he could get a better look.

Jake made a face. "Sort of. It was more of how I hit the lockers though. He got a good hit in on my stomach. I was expecting a sucker punch to the face. So am I included in this conference?"

Chance shook his head. "'Fraid not. Think you can wait here without beating up anyone else bigger than you?"

Jake looked over at Lonnie, slouched down on the orange and brown couch with a sulk. "I'll try my best."  
"Good." Chance palmed Jake's head and gave it a shake. "Not what I had in mind when I suggested you act your age."

Jake watched Chance go before dropping down onto the other side of the couch. "Sorry about knocking you upside your head like that."

Lonnie gave him a sideways look. "Yeah. I guess I over reacted a little. You're one tough little kitten."

Jake shrugged. "So I guess I'm safe from being shoved in a locker and spared any atomic wedgies?"

Lonnie narrowed his brown eyes. "For now."

"You should know." Jake nodded at the ice pack. "I got more where that came from."

"You gotta teach me some of that stuff." Lonnie grinned.

"With great power comes great responsibility." Jake quoted.

"Geek." Lonnie chuckled.

"I kicked your tail, didn't I?" Jake smirked triumphantly.

"Wasn't a fair fight." Lonnie rationalized.

"Nah. I guess it wasn't." Jake settled into the couch to wait for Chance.

* * *

"Thanks for meeting with me." Mr. Teele wasn't what Chance expected of a science teacher. He was a combination of muscles and geek. He was tall and beefy with thick rimmed glasses and a tweed jacket covering his orange fur.

"Sorry you had to leave your class to do this." Chance shook his head. "Never thought Jake would get suspended for fighting."

Mr. Teele shrugged. "I can see that. There's something about him that just leads me to believe he's spontaneously combustible."

Chance frowned. "I don't know about that."  
Mr. Teele waved it off, offering Chance a seat in the teacher's lounge. "The reason I wanted to talk to you." He shook his head. "It isn't because Jake isn't a good student. If this were a question of grades or unexceptionable work, you wouldn't even be here. My concern is that Jake doesn't take an active role in my class. He always submits his assignments on time and they are always correct. I just feel like what Jake should be getting out of this, since clearly he doesn't need the academics, is a good lesson in social involvement."

Chance sucked in his bottom lip. "I think I get what you're saying. You know, you might be onto something." He sighed. "He's having this big issue with another student in another class. They're supposed to be working on an assignment together and can't seem to handle working together. But," Chance frowned. "I mean, he was an Enforcer. I'm not understanding how it's a lack of social skills. He was expected to work with other kats on hundreds of other projects."  
"Jake works just fine with adults. It's with his peers that there's a problem." Mr. Teele explained. "He really needs to get involved with his fellow students. He really needs to develop friends and connections and an understanding before he's really going to get anything out of this."

Chance sighed again. "Yeah. You're right. I can totally see this. I'll..." He shook his head. "I'll have a talk with him. For the most part, he seems to listen to me."

"He's really an amazing young tom." Mr. Steele said sincerely. "But it's painfully obvious that he hasn't had much exposure to kat's his own age."

"Yeah well, he's a genius. He was pretty much a puppet for his dad and then pushed into college and practically given to the Enforcers. It's going to take a lot for him to unlearn this whole acting like an adult thing. Well," Chance grimaced. "If you don't take into account today." He drummed his claws on the table. "Listen, Mr. Teele, I have an idea on how you can get Jake involved. His GPA is a big part of his requirements here. Grading Jake on the same thing as everyone else is pointless. He might as well have written the book. Maybe it would be better to grade him on his involvement."

Mr. Teele tilted his head. "That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?" He stood up and held out his paw. "Thank you so much, Mr. Furlong. This has been very beneficial."

"No sweat." Chance grinned.

* * *

Jake was stretched out along the couch, using his time alone to catch up on his sleep.

"Rise and shine, ninja warrior." Chance said gruffly, pushing Jake's legs onto the floor. "Where's your nemesis?"

"Gone. His mom was pretty pissed." Jake chuckled. "I mean, I thought I hit him hard."

"Yeah well, now you're suspended. Congratulations." Chance smirked. "Let's go."

"Not my fault." Jake shoved his paws into his pockets.

"Yeah well, rules are rules." Chance held open the door, letting Jake out first. "I'll get you a new jersey."

"Don't worry about it." Jake shrugged. "So, um, what'd Mr. Teele have to say?"

Chance mimicked the shrug. "Something about you not adjusting well."

Jake's shoulders sagged. "Aw come on, Chance. Did he give you that lecture he gave me about not getting involved and not taking initiative?"

Chance arched an eyebrow. "So he's mentioned this to you?"

Jake winced. "Sort of."

"You ever think about, I dunno, listening?" Chance paused to unlock the car.

"What's the point?" Jake slid into the passenger seat. "I'm way beyond anything these kits are learning."

Chance's eyes widened slightly. "That's a bit egotistical of you, don't you think?"

"Seriously." Jake rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to do with my ego. It's fact. There isn't anything for me to learn here."

"Academically, no." Chance started the car. "But there are a few things you're missing out on, so Mr. Teele's going to start grading you on your participation."  
"Chance!" Jake glared. "That's bullshit!"

"No. It isn't. Jake, he might be your science teacher, but I'd stake a week's check on him having a degree in psychology. He easily picked out your lack of exposure to kits in your age group. It might not seem like a big deal, but trust me, it has a big effect on what kind of kat you turn into." Chance forcefully put the car into drive.

"What do you want from me, Chance?" Jake glared. "I don't want to do this. I'm stuck doing this ridiculous project with the sister of the jackass that got us kicked of the Enforcers. I have _nothing_ in common with anyone in that place. And you want me to just be friends with these kats and play along?"

Chance shook his head. "What about this Justin kit? You're not friends with him?"

"That's different." Jake looked out the window.

"Whatever. Jake, I get that you're pissed off. I'm pissed off too. But did you ever stop to think that, maybe if your pops hadn't pushed you through some private academy and college only to stow you away in the Enforcers so he wouldn't have to deal with you, that maybe you'd just be the exceptionally smart kid in school? That this is where you should've been all along instead of risking your life for kats that otherwise couldn't care?" Chance hit the brakes a little harder than he intended as a light turned to red.

Jake scowled at his reflection. "There's a lot of things my dad shouldn't have done. None of them are related to my education."

"You mean like beating the shit out of you for no good reason?" Chance hissed.

"He had plenty of reason." Jake replied quietly.

"Like what? That whole 'behavioral problems' thing? Nothing warrants that kind of treatment. Not even picking fights with kits three times your size." Chance clenched his jaw.

"You don't know the first thing about why he's the way he is." Jake whispered.

"I don't give a damn what his reasons are." Chance struggled to keep his tone even. "There's no excuse."

Jake clenched his jaw shut and remained silent for the remainder of the ride home. When they pulled into the salvage yard, he got out, forcefully slammed the door shut and went inside.

Chance winced as he heard Jake slam the door to the house and got back to work. As much as he wanted to just drop what he was doing and talk this out, he had a job to do, and he was already behind courtesy of the problems at school. It seemed as if the remaining work day dragged by at a snails pace. Finally, two cars and a frustrating tow later, he was locking the doors and closing the garage. When he went upstairs, it was clear that Jake hadn't left his room as the rest of the house was in the silent dark while loud music bellowed from behind the closed door down the hall. Heaving a tired sigh, he closed the gap between the kitchen and the short hallway connecting two bedrooms and a bathroom/laundry room and knocked loudly on the door. "Jake," Chance said loudly and then tried the knob, surprised to find it was locked. "How come his door has a lock on it?" He crouched for a moment, examining it. After a few seconds, he managed to get it open only to find a beyond messy room and not its occupant. The chill in the late September night air came in through the open window and Chance looked out, finding a ladder leading to the roof. Looking down, Chance was doubtful Jake had gone any other way than up.

Chance didn't immediately see Jake, but there was a chimney from long ago when the building wasn't electrically heated. The fading light cast a shadow that caused Jake's position to be given away. Making enough noise to alert Jake to his presence, Chance eased himself down on the other side of the old brick structure. "You alright?"

Jake was silent for a moment, except for the strange mechanical noise he seemed to be making. "Yep."  
"What are you doing?" Chance asked curiously.

"Working on something." Jake replied simply.

"Ah." He sighed. "You wanna tell me why you're so pissed off?"  
"Not particularly." Jake said.

"Then how about why you're defending your dad after all the shit he did to you?" Chance heard a sound like Jake had forcefully set something down.

"He's my dad, Chance." Jake practically whispered.

"That's not enough for me, Jake." Chance fought the urge to look around the chimney.

"I'm not perfect, Chance. You of all kats should know that." Jake's voice was full of self-loathing.

"If that's your way of saying you deserved those scars he gave you, I'm not buying it." Chance let his head loll back against the bricks. The sun was quickly disappearing behind the horizon and soon the only light would be from inside the garage. "Why?"

"Why what?" Jake had gone back to tinkering with whatever it was he was tinkering with.

"Why are you defending him?"

"Why does it matter?" Jake countered.

"I need to know these things, Jake." Chance shifted his legs as they started to fall asleep. "I keep trying to tell you that I really do care, that I'm not just pretending. And you're really hard to read sometimes."

Jake was silent for a few minutes, then there was the sound of his shoes scraping against the roof as he shifted his own sitting position. "I have this memory of him being a lot nicer. I mean, he's always had kind of a heavy paw, but he was nicer before my mom died." He paused, expecting some sort of comment from Chance. He got none. "He really loved her. But... but they fought a lot. One day it... she just couldn't deal with him anymore. I think I was five, maybe four. She packed our bags and dragged me out of the house and told him we were never coming back. I don't remember the car accident, just sitting in the backseat, asking her why she was crying. Next thing I know..." Jake trailed off, his voice cracking a little. "First time he ever really snapped at me for something I didn't realize I was supposed to do was when he brought me home. I should have told her to stay." He closed his eyes, vividly remembering having his pants jerked down and the heavy paw with extended claws slamming against his rear, choosing to remember that over the cracked windshield stained in his mother's blood. He cursed himself when tears started to sting his eyes anyway, wiping them away quickly with the back of his paw.

"That's bullshit, Jake." Chance hissed. "That's not a kitten's job. He wanted her to stay, he should have been the one to beg her to, not you. Any halfway decent father would have just been grateful his son was alive."

"Look, Chance," Jake sighed, his voice uneven. "The point is, is that it hurt him just to look at me. I can't blame him for that. I agree that it doesn't make him right, but I can't deny him his reasons."

"You've spent a lot of time coming to that conclusion." Chance sighed. "Must've been hard, trying to come up with reasons to justify the abuse."  
"Fuck you, Chance." Jake said almost soundlessly. He shuffled to his feet. "I'm done talking about this." He didn't so much as give his guardian a second look as he quickly descended the ladder and disappeared into his room, whatever he was working on hidden a bundle tucked under his arm. Chance sucked in a steadying breath before following him. Jake was waiting by the open door, head bowed and anxiously chewing on his thumb claw, ready to slam the door behind him. Chance defiantly shut the door and leaned against it, choosing to watch the teen struggle with his emotions instead of giving him the isolation he clearly wanted.

Frustrated that Chance was staring at him, painfully aware that the fur on his cheeks was still wet, Jake snapped the claw off between his teeth at the quick. He didn't flinch at the sharp pain or the taste of blood. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He snapped, spitting out the piece of nail. "Why are you still here?"

Chance was unflinching at the outburst. "I just want answers, Jake."  
"Bullshit." Jake seethed. "Nobody just wants to know. They either don't want to be burdened by it or they have ulterior motives. Whatever yours are, I don't want to know. So just leave me alone!" He pointed forcefully at the door behind Chance's back.

"I don't have any motives, Jake." Chance sighed. "I just wanna know what's going on in your head, I wanna know why you are the way you are, and how much is really you and how much is what you've been forced to be."

Jake shook his head. "No. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." He turned his back on Chance. "Go."  
"Jake.." Chance moved forward and placed a paw on the obviously trembling shoulder. "I'm sorry I upset you but..."

Jake jerked his arm away. "Chance," he said through clenched teeth. "If you don't leave, then I will, and I can't guarantee I'll come back."

"Alright." Chance conceded. "If you decide you wanna talk, I'll be in the living room."

When the door shut, Jake sank down to the worn carpet and pulled his knees up so that he could bury his face in them.

Chance propped his feet up on the coffee table and stared at the blank television screen. He wasn't really in the mood to watch anything. He was frustrated that, after all they'd been through so far, Jake still couldn't comfortably confide in him. He was angry that the wonderful Dr. Clawson had damaged his son's psyche so much that the kit couldn't just accept that someone truly cared. Chance sat in the silent living room for several hours before finally deciding to go to bed. He stopped outside Jake's door. His music was still blaring loudly. Without knocking, Chance opened the door. Jake was laying on the floor, using a pile of laundry as a pillow. His forearm laid across his eyes and he was breathing deeply. Chance turned off the radio and knelt on the floor next to the teen. "Jake," he near-whispered, shaking him just a little. "Go to bed."

"Leave me alone," Jake breathed quietly, his voice sounding raw.

"Okay." Chance backed away. "If you need me, I'll be in my room." He paused, giving Jake time to say something, but the teen was quiet. Chance sighed loudly and stood up. "Get some sleep," he said before leaving.

* * *

_**"They cry in the dark so you can't see their tears  
**_

_**They hide in the light so you can't see their fears.**_

_**Forgive and forget, all the while**_

_**Love and pain become one and the same**_

_**In the eyes of a wounded child." -Pat Benatar "Hell Is For Children"  
**_


	9. Weathering The Storm

**_I got halfway through this chapter and a random thunderstorm came out of nowhere! It was epic, like, by somehow writing about a storm, I made it storm. And then lightening struck right next to my house and I realized that I better save this before I lose it. So I did and then had to turn off the computer for two hours. Now, it's all sunny and hot again. Gotta love the south in the summer. Enjoy.  
Nyte Kat_**

* * *

Jake scowled at the sink full of dishes and heaved a frustrated sigh. He was having a really hard time accepting that Chance was pretty much the boss of him. And he couldn't help but blame their arguing the day before for the long list of 'chores' dumped on him today. If he was reasonable, Jake could easily see Chance's point of view on this. It really wasn't fair that he had to work at least 40 hours a week on top of having to maintain their home. Jake had argued that he goes to school, but it was a flimsy argument and he knew it. Still, he'd never really had to clean up after himself. His father had a housekeeper and the Enforcer dorms were much like college dorms in that they didn't really have a kitchen; just a microwave, a mini-fridge, and a toaster oven if you were lucky. Ears laid back and tail twitching in a clearly aggravated motion, he begrudgingly set about completing the mundane tasks he'd been given.

* * *

Chance fought the urge to rub his tired eyes, knowing that, if he did, he'd wind up having to wash grease and God only knows what else out of them. He hadn't slept well at all; his mind too busy turning over the things his young friend had said and the things he'd said himself. He just couldn't understand how Jake could accept the things his father had done to him all the while knowing it was wrong. "I should've just pulverized that jackass when I had the chance," he mumbled. After wiping his paws clean as best he could with a greasy shop rag, Chance went into the office, where a coffee pot with an equally greasy handle waited to be drained. The coffee was still hot, as he'd left the pot on, though it had that slightly stale taste of having been made hours ago. It wasn't anything several spoonfuls of sugar and a lot of cream couldn't fix, though. Chance had never been much of a coffee drinker, but lately energy seemed to be in short supply. He'd managed half the cup before the phone started ringing.

* * *

Jake looked triumphantly at the full dish rack and turned around to face the rest of the kitchen. He frowned at the dirty stove top and the over flowing trash can. "This sucks," he pouted and was contemplating making a snack before finishing the first part of his assigned tasks when he heard Chance coming up the stairs. The teen braced himself for whatever else his guardian wanted to dump on him.

"Wanna go for a ride?" Chance asked upon entering the kitchen. "Oh, hey! We have a sink!"

Jake rolled his eyes. "A ride?"

"Yeah. Some abandoned vehicle in the bay area." Chance replied, going over to the now empty sink to wash his paws.

"An abandoned car in the ghetto?" Jake smirked. "Sure there isn't a body inside?"

"You never know." Chance returned the smirk. "I figured we could grab some lunch."  
"I'm game." Jake replied, tossing the damp dish towel onto the counter and starting for his shoes by the door.

Chance looked Jake over with a critical eye. "You wanna put on something other than what you slept in?"  
Jake looked down at the loose fitting basketball shorts and slightly over-sized t-shirt. "What's wrong with this?"

"Well, for one, it's kind of chilly and it looks like it might rain." Chance tried not to sound like a mother-hen. "And, you kind of look like someone that might get picked up by the cops where we're going. I don't want anyone thinking I'm harboring a criminal."

Jake snorted. "Fine. Whatever." He dropped his shoes with a loud thunk and left the kitchen. He returned moments later wearing a pair of jeans that most likely weren't clean and a shirt for a band that he was far too young to really appreciate. "Better?"

Chance made a face. "Marginally."

Jake shook his head and put on his beat up Converses, doing his best to push back down a piece of black duct tape over the toe.

"You know, for the whiz-kit son of a rich kat with a PhD in Physics, you dress a lot like a hobo." Chance criticized as he locked the door to their home behind them.

Jake paused at the base of the stairs to look up at Chance. "Well not everyone with rich parents gets a share of the wealth," he snorted. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten, Chance, that the only money I got was my paycheck from the Enforcers, and now I don't get that, so I'm having to stretch out what I have in savings."

"Which is how much?" Chance _had_ forgotten that detail. It was easy to let something like that slip your mind when a certain teenager made it a point to never ask for anything.

Jake shrugged, looking up at the dark clouds as he left the shop. "It looks like it might do more than rain."

"I'm not a weather-kat." Chance shrugged. "Either way, it might rain."

"Not necessarily." Jake got into the truck.

"So seriously, how much money do you have?" Chance asked, waiting for Jake to fasten his seat belt before putting it in reverse and backing out of the usual parking space.

"You know that's one of those questions you aren't supposed to ask, right?" Jake glared at him before leaning forward to adjust the radio.

"I'm not known for my manners." Chance gave a lopsided grin.

"I won't argue that." Jake agreed and then sucked in a loud breath. "Somewhere in the ballpark of... er..." He made a face as he did some quick math in his head. "Maybe a hundred bucks."

"That's it?" Chance blinked.

"Yeah well, I had like, a grand, but when we got the boot from the Enforcers, I had to pay to have my cell phone cut off because I knew I wouldn't be making any money. And then I had to buy school supplies." Jake explained, deciding to leave out the fact that he was skipping lunch at school to save at least fifteen bucks a week.

"I thought your phone was in your dad's name." Chance shot Jake a sideways glare.

"Yeah." Jake nodded his head. "You have to be 18 to get a cell phone in your name. I was still paying the bill. And you have to pay to end your service if it violates the number of years you signed up for."

"Yeah I got that." Chance shook his head, not surprised. "You could've said something."

Jake huffed quietly but didn't respond, focusing his attention on the gathering clouds, shifting so that one foot was propped up on the cracked and faded dash near the window, unconsciously giving Chance a good view of a few growing rips and holes in his faded jeans.

Chance bit the inside of his cheek and made a mental note to call his mom and ask her if she'd pitch in to get Jake some new clothes.

* * *

There was an obvious decline in care and maintenance as they neared the location of the abandoned station wagon a local bar owner reported in his parking lot. There weren't any lawns or even any trees in the bay area. In fact, most of the wood spotted was in the form of cracked sheets of plywood covering doors and windows with signs stapled to them. Some shouted 'condemned' and 'unsafe' while others simply read 'no trespassing'. There were crumbling houses that looked as if they should be boarded up or demolished, but, instead, boasted improvised clothes lines between windows and fences. "Whoa.." Jake breathed quietly, taking in a massive cemetery behind a huge wrought iron fence, it's tombs and mausoleums towering proudly in a macabre sort of way.

"Yeah, that's about the only interesting part of this side of the city." Chance agreed. "You ever been in there?"

Jake shook his head, though clearly mystified by the architecture. "You'd think that, as poor as the kats around here are, their graveyard would be a little less extravagant."

"No one's been buried there for at least fifty years." Chance shook his head. "And the above ground graves are more out of necessity than for looks."

Jake narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Chance's ears flicked forward with surprise. "Aw come on now. You're the genius. You tell me."

Jake stared blankly at Chance for a moment and then looked back at the cemetery as they passed the end of it, his eyes falling on the gray-green water not to far from the road. "Um... too close to sea-level to dig a grave?"

"Brilliant!" Chance teased in a bad British accent. "Actually, technically, we're below sea-level right here. The first bodies buried there, around 300 years ago, _were_ buried. But then the waters would rise and push the coffins out of the ground."

Jake's eyes widened slightly. "That's really creepy."

"Yeah." Chance chuckled. "And you know how superstitious kats were back then, so they started building tombs and putting locks on them to keep the corpses in."

Jake couldn't help the shudder than ran through his body. "I was always under the impression that it was to keep grave robbers out."

"Nah." Chance said, spotting a run down bar overlooking a pier. A rusted brown station wagon was parked diagonolly across two spaces. "I think this is the place."

* * *

Jake shivered, wishing he'd brought a jacket or put on a shirt with long sleeves as strong wind began to sweep through the desolate area. He looked around, a little surprised that there seemed to be nobody else around. And, aside from the howling the wind made as it passed between buildings and cracked windows, it was eerily quiet. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. Chance was checking out the abandoned car, making sure there really wasn't a body stashed in it and looking for any credentials that might help track down it's owner so that the bar proprietor didn't get the towing charge. A deafening crack of thunder spooked both kats and they simultaneously looked skyward.

"Holy..." Chance muttered, taking in the swirling clouds, his thick blond fur now ruffled. "We need to get out of this. Go see if anyone's here!" He shouted over the wind at Jake.

The teen jogged to the bar entrance and tried to open the door. It was locked so he banged loudly and tried to listen for anything from inside. "If no one's here, who the hell called about the car?" He thought to himself. He hurried back to Chance. "No one's here."  
"Damn it." Chance snarled. "Get in the truck. We'll come back for the car. I'm not letting us get stuck out in a storm over it."

Jake didn't waste any time obeying, adjusting the radio to find anything about the weather while Chance tried to get them away from the impending storm. The wind pressed violently against the tow truck, rocking it as if it were a sailboat caught in a hurricane. Another boom of thunder and then a bolt of lightening struck a nearby telephone pole. Chance cursed loudly and swerved, avoiding the shower of sparks as it came crashing down. Jake gasped as his seat belt jerked him back forcefully.

"Sorry." Chance looked sheepish. "I'm gonna go into that parking garage." No sooner did he voice his intentions did hail begin to pelt the truck. Pieces the size of gumballs crashed hard against the windshield. Jake turned in his seat to get a good look out the back window. "Um... something tells me this might be more than a bad storm. And maybe we should get a little further away than the parking garage."

Chance looked in his mirror, catching a glimpse of the bay and the swirling sky above it as it opened and appeared to be sucking the tumultuous water up into it. "Crud," he snarled, focusing back on the road as a piece of hail succeeded in cracking the glass. "No can do, kiddo. We should be safe in the..." He paused as the headlights and the radio went off, along with the nearly pointless windshield wipers, and then the truck coasted to a stop.

"What just happened?" Jake turned back around in his seat.

"I dunno." Chance tried to crank the engine back to life. "Everything just died. It's like the battery just bit it."

"You... uh... you think we should still shoot for the parking garage?" Jake asked, looking back out the window.

Chance turned to look as well, eyes widening as the vortex appeared to be moving. "Oh yeah." He looked outside. The hail had turned to heavy rain. He tried to start the truck one more time and then looked back out the window, spotting something orange and red in the sky. "Is that a.. dragon?"

Jake nodded. "Affirmative. And... I think it's heading this way."

"And so's that vortex!" Chance looked back at the parking garage. "Hope you don't mind getting a little wet."

"Don't think we've got much of a choice." Jake replied, pushing open his door against the strong wind. He cursed his old shoes the moment they hit the wet asphalt. Their lack of traction on the bottoms caused him to instantly slide. "What I wouldn't give for a pair of combat boots right now," he said to himself as he struggled to keep up with Chance.

Chance turned around as soon as he was under the cover of the parking garage. He winced as Jake started to slip but regained his balance. A loud screech from the skies forced him to look up. The dragon had spotted the teen's movements. "Jake!" Chance shouted a warning.

Jake spared a quick glance above as he ran and he realized the legendary creature was swooping down at him. With at least ten feet separating him from Chance and the safety of the parking garage, he double timed it, launching himself at the last minute.

Chance recognized Jake's intent the moment he moved to do so and prepared to catch him, and prevent a painful crash into the cement. The plan went awry when the battered shoes failed to get the purchase needed for the effort and Jake's feet came out from underneath him. Chance hoped the loud crack he heard when Jake landed on one of his arms came from thunder. Without wasting anymore time, the tabby pulled Jake in and away from the dangerous beast. It screeched and cawed loudly, unwilling to attempt to squeeze itself into the structure.

"You alright?" Chance asked as he led the teen further into the safety of the garage.

Shaking from adrenaline, Jake nodded, though cradling his right arm against his body. "Kind of wondering what the hell a dragon is doing in Megakat City."

"Yeah." Chance cast a look back towards the outside. It wasn't long before the wail of sirens and the sound of explosions could be heard over the heavy downfall of rain and earsplitting thunder. He turned his attention back to Jake. "Let me see," he reached for the arm, certain that's what he'd heard snapping.

* * *

"Magnetic interference?" Jake offered when the truck easily started back up.

Chance shook his head. "Maybe." He turned the radio off and adjusted the frequency on the CB until he heard what sounded like someone official giving orders. "Get these... dragons... off the street and figure out how they got here." He shook his blond head. "Sounds like Feral's got this under control."

"Yeah." Jake replied in a tight voice, the adrenaline that had been dulling the pain having worn off during their wait for the danger to pass.

"Hospital?" Chance made it sound like a suggestion even though he didn't plan on taking the kit anywhere else.

"Yeah." Jake offered him a weak smile.

* * *

Jake blinked and squinted at the wall across from him and then shook his head forcefully.

"You okay?" Chance asked, a chuckle in his voice.

"My face is kind of numb." Jake tried to focus on his friend. "An' I'm kinda dizzy."

Chance tried to keep a straight face, wondering if Jake realized he was practically holding him up as he escorted him out of the hospital. "Yeah, they gave you the good stuff. How about your arm? That numb too?"

Jake gave him a confused, wide eyed look. "What arm?"

Chance couldn't hold back the laugh this time. "The one you broke."

Jake looked down at the thick black cast and the sling holding it close to his chest. "Nope."

"No it's not numb?" Chance asked.

"Nope I can't feel it." Jake clarified.

"Good." Chance shook his head, steadying Jake as he nearly stumbled off the sidewalk. "Let's keep it to just the arm."

"Good idea." Jake laughed. "So does this get me out of doing dishes?"  
"Considering that you can't get it wet," Chance sighed. "I guess so. You can still clean up the living room and your bedroom."

Jake tried his best to glare at Chance. "Ya know, if you're gonna make me do all this stuff, shouldn't I get... I dunno... compensated?"

Chance paused to let a car go by, gripping Jake by the shoulder to keep the more-than-slightly drugged kit from getting run over. "You mean like an allowance?"

Jake looked at Chance for a long time before responding, his reaction time dulled. "That's not what I said?"

"You kind of said that." Chance replied, amused. "I can swing that, but that means I need something from you."  
Jake shook his head. "You're losing me here. Isn't that the point? I do stuff you want me to do and you pay me for it?"  
Chance shook his head, opening the truck door for Jake. "You need help?"

Jake clumsily slid into the cab. "I think I got it."

Chance went around to the driver's side. "We need to go back and get that station wagon."

"Yep." Jake squinted, with one eye more than the other, as he tried to get the seat belt to latch.

Chance guided the two pieces together. "So this allowance thing..."

"Yeah." Jake let his head fall back against the head rest.

"That gives me an awful lot of parental control over you. And, you know, you seem to be having a problem with that." Chance shook his head as he took in the backed up traffic as Enforcers and other city workers struggled to clean up the damage from the bizarre attack.

Jake rolled his head to look at Chance. "I'm not following you." He closed his eyes. "An' can you slow it down a little? I'm kind of dizzy."  
Chance made a face. "Jake, the truck isn't moving. Traffic is at a stand still."

Jake opened his eyes again and sluggishly turned to look out the window. "Tha's weird. Just like the city... a couple of dragons and everyone freaks out."

Chance blinked. "You know, when I said they gave you the good stuff, I mean the _really_ gave you the good stuff."  
"Uh huh," Jake agreed, closing his eyes again. "Can you jus' wake me when we're home?"

"What about this allowance thing?" Chance chuckled, letting his foot off the brake a little as the car in front of him inched forward.

"Oh yeah." Jake remembered opening his eyes and then grimacing at the movement. "What were you saying?"

"Look, every time it comes down to me having to make a decision as your guardian or every time I ask you questions about your mom or your dad, you get pissed at me and you fight me." Chance gave Jake an almost wounded look.

"Do you really care or are you just pretending because you were told to?" Jake shifted in an effort to keep himself focused.

"If I didn't care," Chance made sure to make eye contact. "Then you'd already be in a foster home somewhere and I wouldn't be trying so hard to get you to open up."

Jake looked away. "But why do you..?"

"Jake," Chance cut him off, placing his paw firmly on his shoulder, feeling the still slightly damp fabric. "Stop being so smart for five seconds, okay? This isn't something you should have to rationalize."

Jake licked his lips and nodded. "Okay."

"What you had before this, with the Enforcers and everything, that was awesome. There's no doubting that, but you had to give up a lot to do it. And now you've got a second chance." Chance focused back on the road, thrilled to finally be moving more than an inch at a time.

"What about you?" Jake asked.

"What about me?" Chance smirked. "Look, if your life gets screwed up from here on out, you can blame me for it. Just stop fighting me on how to do it. Okay?"  
"So, what you're saying is..." Jake scrubbed his free paw down his face. "That you know what you're doing so I should just... go along with it."  
"Bingo." Chance replied. "Can you do that?"

Jake sighed loudly. "I can... I can try."

"That's not what I want to hear." Chance tried to keep his expression neutral, although he desperately wanted to smile after having finally made some headway with Jake.

"Alright," Jake rolled his eyes and then winced as it exacerbated the dizziness. "I'll do it. Just... you know... no crazy grounding me for stupid stuff."

"Like getting suspended from school?" Chance teased.

"Um... okay, I guess that's grounding-worthy." Jake looked sheepish. "So what do you want from me and how much is it worth?"

Chance snorted at the way Jake worded his question. "When the cast comes off, the dishes are your job. Along with that, starting now, keep the room clean, or at least... less like a landfill, take the trash out, and help out with the laundry so I feel like less of a housewife."

"Guess the homework and stuff's a gimme?" Jake pouted.

"Duh." Chance snorted. "You do all that, I'll spot you $30 a week. And that's yours to do whatever you want with. Your stuff for school, lunch money, whatever, that's my responsibility. Not yours. You shouldn't even have to ask for that. How's that sound?"

Jake grunted, his eyes closed again. "Like I've got a pretty sweet deal."

"Yeah, most teenagers do." Chance chuckled, letting Jake finally drift off to sleep.

When Jake woke up, it was from the sound of the chain on the wench. He blinked to clear his vision and looked out the window to find Chance getting the station wagon connected to the tow truck. A twinge of pain shot through his arm but it was nothing compared to the uncomfortable sticky feeling in his mouth, the empty feeling in his stomach and the painfully full feeling in his bladder. He blinked again and looked down at his watch. It was already nearing five in the afternoon. Heaving a sigh, Jake was just about to get out of the truck when he realized Chance was coming around to get in.

"Good morning." Chance grinned. "Enjoy your nap?"

"Yeah." Jake frowned as he shifted into a more comfortable position. "Except, I'm starving and I really have to pee so I'd skip the short cuts if I were you."

Chance snorted. "No problem. We'll stop and grab dinner on the way."

"Awesome." Jake let his eyes fall closed again. He didn't fall asleep this time, but the sun had made a dramatic come back and there was no visor on his side. His mind started turning the day's events over. Parts of his brain working on the hows and whys of the mysterious dragons, other parts dissecting his slightly indolent conversation with Chance, and then the looming project with Miranda. He really wasn't looking forward to going back to school and having to face her after giving her two whole days of working on this project without his input.

"Burgers good for you?" Chance asked, noticing that one of his favorite diners wasn't busy.

"Sure." Jake opened his eyes again. "Mongo peppers on mine." He said as Chance parked the tow truck in the back where truck drivers usually stopped.

"Ooh." Chance's eyes lit up. "That does sound good." He followed Jake into the diner, pointing out the restrooms before ordering their dinner to go.

_**

* * *

Another long one under my belt. Had to throw in some action, and I was turning it over in my head how I wanted Jake and Chance to come to terms over this whole guardian thing. Then I remembered this one time that my mom fell and busted her arm. I don't know what they gave here but she pretty much agreed to everything. So that's where this idea came from. Anyway... thanks Cody Furlong for your constant support. Got a lot more coming.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	10. Working It Out

_**A Lesson In Failure... and a bit of lightheartedness... **_

* * *

Ms. Klim turned the lights on and walked to the front of the classroom. The last of her students had just given their mid-term presentation and there were just a few more moments before the bell rang. "You all put in a great deal of effort. I will add the grades for this into the grades for your mid term exams, which we will begin preparing for tomorrow. Make sure you have all of your notes." The bell shrilled loudly in the middle of her speaking. "See you guys tomorrow. Jake, Miranda.." She smiled, though it looked more painful than anything. "Stay."

Jake exhaled loudly as he struggled to get his notebook back into his bag with one paw. "I told you the Power Point was a bad idea," Miranda hissed at him. Jake clenched his jaw shut tightly, holding in any vicious comment he could make regarding her poster-board display. Ms. Klim looked back and forth between the two of them. "Alright," she sighed. "What went wrong?"

They both blinked at the teacher and then spoke simultaneously.

"He's unreasonable!" Miranda exclaimed.

"She's unreasonable!" Jake huffed at precisely the same time and then glared at her.

Ms. Klim chuckled. "The point was for the two of you to learn to work together. Instead, I get two separate reports on the same topic. That isn't teamwork and it isn't what I wanted. I can't give you full credit for this."

Jake closed his eyes and bit back the groan that was about to come out.

"What do you mean by not full credit?" Miranda sounded as if she'd been run through with a sword, her voice weak and her eyes wide with shock.

"I don't need to read the actual reports to know that you both have written something exceptional. So you'll get the appropriate grade for that, however you failed to meet the criteria that I specifically laid out for the two of you. Therefore your presentation gets an 'F'." Ms. Klim spoke with finality.

"An 'F'?" Miranda felt her heart flutter in her chest. Her brown eyes glittered with tears and she turned to glare at Jake. "This is all your fault," she hissed before storming out of the classroom.

Ms. Klim fixed Jake with an expectant look as he stood stock still, a strange expression on his face. "Jake, are you alright?"

He shook his head, feeling somewhat woozy. His mouth hung open slightly and he was focused on a spot on the floor.

"Jake," Ms. Klim spoke a little louder. "What's wrong?"

He looked up slowly, his expression akin to someone who'd just been forcefully slapped. "I've never failed anything."

She gave the young tom a sympathetic look. "Do you need to sit down for a moment? I can write a note for your next class."

Jake nodded dumbly, sinking back down into his desk, a sick feeling in his stomach. He stood back up just as the students for the next class began to filter in.

* * *

Miranda looked bravely back at her reflection in the mirror, hoping she looked more together than she felt. Sniffling one last time, she forcefully held her head up high and left the girl's bathroom only to find Jake Clawson leaning against the wall across from the entrance, looking somewhat pale despite his dark fur.

"What do you want?" Her voice was a bit shaky.

"Here." He held out a pass. "I asked Ms. Klim to write you one too, since I figured you'd be late for your next class."

"What do you care?" Miranda ignored the slip of paper. "You're a college graduate."

Jake looked away, a sheepish look on his face. "I just threw up in front of Ms. Klim's second period class."

Miranda's eyes widened.

"I've never failed anything... ever. Well, except the Enforcers but I knew that wasn't my fault from the start." Jake was still holding out the pass. "You're... you're parents aren't going to... you know... kill you or anything, are they?"

Miranda snorted, shooting him a teary look. "No." Then she chuckled. "If anything, my mother will probably lecture me on how it's good to fail something every now and then."

Jake looked confused. "How's that?"

"I'm not sure. She's a therapist. Half the things she tells me make no sense." Miranda wiped her eyes again. "So you really just..."

"Yep." Jake sighed.

Miranda took the pass so that he could stop holding out his arm. "That officially makes you more of a dork than I am."

"Right." Jake sighed. "Just... don't go telling everyone."

Miranda laughed. "Trust me. I won't have to. Whether you knew anyone in her second period or not, it'll make it's way back to you by lunch."

Jake groaned. "Awesome."

* * *

"Jake!" Jason squeezed through a couple of other students, his exotic friend Suri in tow. "I heard you blew chunks in Ms. Klim's class. I figured you would've gone home early or something."

Jake's eyes widened and he looked at Suri. "It wasn't like that."

She rolled her eyes. "Jason can't tease you. He'd be a hypocrite."

Jason blanched, though it was impossible to see beneath his black fur.

"Really?" Jake smirked.

"Okay," Jason glared at Suri. "For the sake of making you feel better, last year..." He paused and closed his eyes, clearly mortified. "There was this school-wide spelling contest. I got so nervous, because, I mean, everyone in the school was watching."

"He peed his pants." Suri finished, donning an evil grin.

Jake chuckled. "That's way worse. But I still feel like an idiot."

"Hey puke boy!" Someone shouted as the trio walked through the food court.

"Thanks!" Jake said loudly, giving a thumbs up in the direction of the shouting. "See?"

"Alright," Jason sighed. "Change of subject. Are you going to the fair this weekend?"

Jake made a face. "I dunno. Chance mentioned it but something could come up."

"Are you grounded?" Jason asked.

Jake looked surprised. "For what?"

"For beating up Lonnie. Duh. You got suspended for two days." He reminded his friend and then pointed at the broken arm. "That looks suspicious by the way. What happened? And don't say you fell down the stairs."  
Jake winced. "No. I'm not grounded. And double 'no' on falling down the stairs." He pointed down at his shoes. "These suck for running in the rain. I ate pavement in a parking garage yesterday."

Jason looked disbelieving. "How'd you get suspended and not get grounded? My parents would have hung me. And they're divorced so I would have gotten hung twice."

Suri chuckled. "Lonnie started it, right?"

Jake nodded.

"Self defense. My parents would have fought Mrs. Catsby on the suspension." She shook her head.

"Your parents are ninjas." Jason teased.

Jake gave her a funny look. "Ninjas?"

"They teach Kung Fu." Suri explained.

"Ah." Jake nodded, adding one more facet of her awesomeness to his list. "So.. are you guys going to the fair?"

"As if we would miss out on funnel cakes and The Hurler." Suri scoffed. "Well, you could do without The Hurler." She teased.

"For the record." Jake pouted. "I was a gunner in the Enforcers. I do not get motion sick."

"What if we tacked a copy of your English grade up in front of you while you were on the ride?" Jason asked with a grin.

"Laugh it up." Jake glared.

* * *

Jake was surprised to find a different car waiting for him when he got out of detention. He gave Rita a suspicious and somewhat worried look as he got into the passenger side of her car. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Rita asked innocently.

"Where's Chance? And why aren't you at work?" Jake waited anxiously for her response.

"Oh. Chance asked me if I'd mind taking you to get some clothes for school. He really doesn't like shopping. If there's an emergency at the clinic, I've got my cell. I'm not the only doctor there and it _is_ my clinic." Rita explained.

"Oh." Jake let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "New clothes?"

Rita looked down at Jake's shoes and then at the frayed edges of his jeans, up to the holes in the knees and then his baggy t-shirt. "Yep. How was school?"

Jake shrugged. "I'm right-pawed so I'm pretty sure any notes I took today won't make any sense to me later. And gym was exceptionally boring today."

"I bet. Chance said you had a big project due today. How'd that go?" Rita asked, genuinely interested.

Jake winced. "Not so great."

Rita looked surprised. "What happened?"

"Um... well..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I flunked it."

"You?" Rita choked out.

"Well... it was a group project, sort of. I was working on it with this she-kat in my class. So we both flunked it." Jake wiped his free paw on his pants leg.

"I have to say, I'm surprised." Rita shot Jake a look. "I bet that was hard for you."

Jake shook his head. "You have no idea." He proceeded to explain what had happened when he'd been told his grade for the project was an 'F'.

"What about your partner? How'd she take it?" Rita asked, patting his leg sympathetically.

Jake frowned. "Well..." He smirked. "At least I didn't hide in the bathroom and cry about it."

"You have to learn how to fail gracefully." Rita sighed. "It's like losing a game. You have to experience losing before you really appreciate winning."  
Jake gaped at her. "Whatever happened to winning being everything?"

"Whoever taught you that is a sore loser." Rita replied as she turned into the mall parking lot.

Jake looked at her thoughtfully. "Did Chance ever fail anything?"

Rita laughed. "Are you kidding? Not everyone can get through school without opening a book. He always did well in Math and History, but English..." She shook her head. "As long as he did his best, I was happy. And that still applies. I really hated it when he told me what happened with the Enforcers, but you two did your best. That's what matters, that you really put forth the effort and tried."

"Right," Jake said, looking unconvinced.

"This won't be the first thing you do badly at in life." Rita told him. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Learn from it. That's the whole point."

* * *

"How'd that presentation go?" Chance asked the moment Jake was through the door. He received a perfect deer in the headlights look. "Bad?"

"Um... well... I thought it went well." Jake chuckled setting down the two bags he was carrying in his left paw so that he could get his backpack off his shoulders. "Ms. Klim... not so much..." When he looked back up, Chance was wearing an amused expression. "I heard. She called me."

"Oh." Jake looked away. "_Oh_," he repeated, looking a little dazed.

"Don't sweat it." Chance clapped him on the shoulder. "With all the arguing you and that Miranda girl did, I figured it was going to end badly for someone. Where's Ma?"  
Jake rolled his eyes. "Getting the rest of the stuff she bought me. She really shouldn't own a credit card."

Chance sighed. "I told her you didn't need a whole new wardrobe. Just some new shoes and a couple of new pairs of jeans and stuff."

Jake chuckled. "She bought you some stuff too."

Chance groaned and went to help her bring in the rest of the shopping bags.

Rita didn't stick around much longer. Chance followed her out to her car and then closed up the shop as he came back in.

"So are we still going to the fair this weekend?" Jake asked, dutifully completing his homework, although a bit awkwardly as he struggled to find the best way to write so that it would be legible.

"I was thinking about it." Chance replied, preheating the oven for a pizza. "Why?"  
Jake shrugged. "Just wondering."

Chance gave him a suspicious look. "Someone going to be there?"

"No," Jake laughed.

"What's her name?" Chance grinned broadly.

"What?" Jake choked.

"Come on. You haven't said anything about it until now. Which leads me to believe someone asked if you were going. So, who is she?" Chance dropped into a vacant chair at the kitchen table.

"It was just, you know, Jason said he and... um... that he was going."

Chance was still grinning. "Jason and who?"

"Did I say 'and'?" Jake looked up, unconsciously biting his lip.

"Yep." Chance could read the guilt all over the teen's face. "What's her name?"

"Su..." Jake started, pausing when it started to come out in a high pitched squeak. He cleared his throat. "Suri."

"Suri?" Chance gave Jake a weird look. "Interesting name."

"She's... uh... a leopard. I think Jason said her parents are from Africa or something." Jake explained.

"Ah." Chance gave Jake a critical look. "What's she look like?"  
Jake shrugged. "She's cute, I guess." His attention on his homework.

"Uh huh." Chance casually pulled one of Jake's notebooks closer to him and flipped it open. He was well aware that Jake tended to sketch things when he was bored. "So, this, uh... Suri?"

"Yep." Jake kept his eyes on his homework.

"She... look anything like..." Chance paused, finding a pencil drawing of a she-kat with long dreads. "This?"

Jake's head snapped up and the flush that crept all the way up to his ears was easily spotted.

"And she's going to the fair?" Chance asked.

"With Jason." Jake added, quickly looking back down.

"Right. With Jason." Chance chuckled. "I don't know. You still haven't even touched your room."

Jake glared at Chance. "That wasn't even part of the deal until yesterday."

Chance shrugged and got back up. "I mean... there's a Scaredy Kat marathon on Saturday."

Jake's ears drooped. "Right."

"Clean your room and then we'll talk." Chance bargained, setting the notebook back down in front of Jake, the drawing of Suri facing up.

* * *

Chance yawned tiredly as he walked from his room to Jake's. Opening the door, he braced himself to have to navigate his way around piles of dirty laundry to get to the bed to shake the teen awake. What he found instead stunned him. All of the clothes were picked up, the closet door was actually closed and the dresser and bedside table were completely clear of all the junk that had previously occupied it. "This is serious," he mumbled, shaking himself out of his surprise. "Jake," Chance reached for the foot that was sticking out from under the blankets and gave it a firm tug.

"Hm?" Jake responded, his face buried deeply into his pillows, jerking his foot back beneath the sheets.

"Time for school." Chance said, looking around the room, still reeling at the difference from the night before.

Jake turned his head to glare at Chance. "So..." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his paw. "How awesome are these funnel cakes I keep hearing about?"  
Chance shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself."

* * *

_**A short one. The next couple of ones are going to be a little less angsty. Gotta have good with the bad.**_

_**NK  
**_


	11. In All Fairness

_**A balance of the good and the bad. So much for completely lighthearted. **_

_**Nyte Kat  
**_

* * *

Chance shot a sideways look at Jake while he looked for a parking space. It had been pure torture, making the youth wait until closer to sunset to leave, but it was worth it to see the barely suppressed look of awe at the lights and the sounds. Finally, he found a spot. "Looks a lot bigger this year." Chance grinned. "I haven't been since before the academy."

Jake was silent, but his eyes were darting back and forth as they approached the ticket booth. It was almost sensory overload. The air was perfumed with the smell of hot dogs and french fries and other things he couldn't pick out. His ears struggled to separate joyous screaming from laughter and loud conversation and from the shouting of barkers, trying to draw gullible victims in to play their games. Then there was the blur of lights on rides as they twisted and spun, and the different colors strung up between booths and tents.

"Jake!"

A voice broke through the noise and both tabby and ginger furred teen turned. Chance fought the urge to grin outright. Jake's sketch was dead on. He pegged the short, pudgy kitten for Jason. Suri had pulled her long dreadlocks into a very thick band behind her head. She was taller than Jake. That much was obvious from a distance. Chance looked down at Jake, smirking as he unconsciously smoothed his hair and straightened his hooded sweatshirt.

"H-hey, Suri." Jake grinned stupidly at her before acknowledging his friend. "Jason." He nodded. "When did you..."  
"JASON!"

Chance and all three kits looked in the direction of a thin, black furred she-kat with long raven hair.

"DON'T GO ON THE RIDES WITHOUT YOUR INHALER! YOU HEAR ME?"

Jason groaned and hid his face into his paws. "Yeah, Mom!"

"ALRIGHT. I'M TAKING YOUR SISTER OVER TO THE KITTEN RIDES!"

Chance noticed an equally mortified couple standing with the she-kat, who was holding a young kitten's paw tightly. "Those your parents, too?" Chance asked Suri.

She gave Chance a critical look and then looked at Jake, waiting for an introduction before responding.

"Oh." Jake winced. "Um, this is my brother, Chance."  
"Okay." Suri smiled. "Yeah. Those are my parents and Jason's nutcase for a mom."

"Cool." Chance gave Jake an almost evil grin before pulling a wad of bills out of his pocket. "Don't blow it all on games just to show off your aim."

Jake looked down at the money shoved into his left paw. "Where're you going?" His voice reflected his nervousness.

"Just... ah... you know... gonna get to know your friends' parents and stuff." He started to walk away before turning back to Jason and Suri. "For the record, he's never been to the fair so... make sure he has a good time."

Before Jake could protest, Jason was already pulling him towards the rides. "You've seriously never been to the fair before?"

"Uh..." Jake shot Chance one last look before giving himself up to fate.

* * *

Chance quickly caught up to the small group of parents. Suri's parents gave him an assessing look as he approached. "Hey." He said, hardly breathless, and extending his paw. "Chance Furlong, Jake's older brother."

"Oh. That young fellow that Suri and Jason were looking for?" The tom, a panther looking kat with a deep, thick voice, purred politely.

"Yes, sir." Chance replied, feeling immediately like this was a figure of authority. "You're Suri's father?"

"I am." He took Chance's paw firmly. "Kojo Tier. And this is my wife, Sekai."

Chance winced. "It might take me a few tries to get those right."

Sekai laughed, an infectious sound, and clearly one of the qualities her husband found attractive, for he smiled broadly at her. "Trust me, Chance, you said?"

He nodded.

"You would not be the first to mess up our names." She smiled and then gestured towards the black furred she-kat. "This is young Jason's mother. Ofelia."

Ofelia smiled brightly at Chance and extended her paw. "Ofelia Felino. And this is my daughter Lucy. I suppose you've already met Jason."

"Yeah." Chance smiled.

"Jason speaks very highly of Jake. He tells me that Jake was an Enforcer." Ofelia spoke with disbelief.

"He was." Chance confirmed. "Actually, we both were."

"How does one so young become an Enforcer?" Kojo asked, clearly interested.

"It's a long story." Chance said.

"One we have plenty of time for." Sekai pointed out.

Chance shrugged. He'd wanted to become familiar with the parents of the kits Jake was becoming friends with. This was the best way to start.

* * *

"Alright." Jason and Suri grinned at each other as they sat several paper plates loaded with goodies on them in front of Jake.

"Holy crap." Jake whispered.

"These are deep fried chocolate cookies." Jason grinned. "And they are amazing."

"_This_," Suri pushed another plate forward. It was completely covered by some sort of deep fried item heavily dusted with powdered sugar. "Is a funnel cake."

"And then we have a few other random deep fried things like candy bars and cream-cakes." Jason was beaming. "So which one do want to try first?"

Jake was trying to decide between the cookies and the funnel cake when he heard a familiar voice. He raised his head and looked passed Jason and Suri, spotting a perfect dirty blond ponytail.

"What?" Jason looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Aw, is that Miranda?"

Jake saw that she was walking around with her parents, looking longingly at the other kits. "Hang on." He got up and darted over to her.

"What is he doing?" Suri watched him with wide amber eyes.

"He's going to ask her to hang out with us." Jason groaned. "Great."

"Perhaps he feels bad for her." Suri contemplated.

"Maybe." Jason groaned.

"Hey." Jake lightly grabbed Miranda by the arm.

She spun around and glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I... uh... well... I'm here with Suri and Jason and I thought... maybe you'd like to... you know... hang out with us." Jake shoved one paw into his pocket while his cast covered arm hung loosely at his side.

"I can't just run off and leave my parents, they..."

"Miranda, you go right ahead and have fun with your friends." Her mother said brightly.

Miranda frowned. "But..."

"Actually, Mrs. Steele," Jake put on his most polite expression as he searched the area. He spotted Chance easily. "My brother Chance, Suri's parents and Jason's mom are all over there!" He pointed.

"How delightful!" Miranda's mother grinned. "I'd especially love to talk to your brother."

Jake winced. "Yeah." He grabbed Miranda's arm.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Look," Jake sighed, pausing before he was within earshot of his own friends. "I figured, maybe next time, we might do better on our projects if, you know, we could spend five minutes in each other's company without wanting to kill someone. Besides, I've never been to the fair before. I need corrupting."

Miranda blinked and then laughed. "What kind of loser's never been to the fair before?"

Suri and Jason rolled their eyes at each other as Jake returned with Miranda.

"Miranda." They both said quietly.

"Be nice." Jake hissed.

"Okay, Jake." Suri decided to be the better she-kat. "You still haven't decided which one you're going to try first."  
Miranda eyed the plates of goodies. "Oh," she breathed. "You _have_ to eat the cookies. Those are a legend."

* * *

"This is turning into PTA night." Ofelia joked when she saw Connie and Frederick Steele approaching.

Chance gave her a curious look.

"Ofelia!" Connie gushed loudly.

"Hey Mrs. Steele!" Lucy shouted loudly, pulling herself from her mother's grasp to hug the light blond haired she-kat.

"I thought you looked familiar." Chance smirked at Frederick. He remembered Steele's parents from graduation of basic before the academy. "Chance Furlong." He held out his paws.

"Ah!" Frederick chuckled. "The one that drove Johnathon mad."

Chance winced. "Yes sir."

"You don't have to sir me." He grinned. "I work for a living."

"Tell me, Chance." Connie interrupted. "Does Jake complain about Miranda as much as she complains about him?"

Chance laughed. "Well, they don't exactly see eye to eye from my understanding."

"Interesting." She murred. "Because, when he saw us, he practically dragged her away from us to be with him and his friends."

Chance narrowed his eyes at her. "That _is_ weird. But then, from the way I hear it, they were both really upset about the grade they got on that English project. Maybe they have common ground now."

Connie tilted her head. "That is a possibility to consider."

* * *

"Jake and Jason should sit on the sides." Suri said as they boarded one of the cars on the Whirl-y-Gig. "That way, when it smushes everyone to one side, we don't have the weight of two boys on us."

Miranda snorted and looked at Jake. "I think he's the skinniest one of all. We might crush him."

Jake glared at her. "Hey. I went toe to toe with Lonnie. And besides." He waved his broken arm in the air.

"He did." Jason defended. "And I don't want to squish Suri. She'll hit me."

Miranda laughed loudly and then slapped a paw over her mouth, embarrassed that she was having fun with the kits she otherwise despised.

"Either way," Suri chuckled. "We better sit down because the ride operator looks like he is getting impatient."

When the ride was over, all four staggered off, slightly dizzy and definitely bruised from sliding into each other. Jake's ears were ringing from Jason's girly screaming when the ride increased speed, and his right arm thrummed with pain after getting smacked around. And, strangely, Suri and Miranda were giggling to each other about the way they kept getting smashed together.

"Okay." Jake sucked in a breath. "Now what?"

Jason looked at Suri and she looked at Miranda. Simultaneously they turned to Jake and grinned. "Fun House."

"Wait!" Jason stopped them all. "We need a giant Slush and cotton candy first."

* * *

"Alright," Sekai looked at her cell phone and then at Chance, who'd offered to carry Lucy when she'd become too sleepy to walk. "I have not received a call from security yet." She joked. "But it is getting very late."

"And cold." Connie agreed, pulling her jacket closer.

Sekai quickly dialed the number to her daughter's cell. "Suri," she purred. "Where are you?"

Chance's trained ears easily picked out the impish giggling, quickly followed by a tired whine that sounded a lot like Jake. Following the sound, he spotted the group of teens near one of the picnic areas. Jake was laying flat on his back on one of the benches while Suri and Miranda took turns tormenting him with very large, brightly colored stuffed monkeys.

On the other side of the table was Jason, his head buried in his arms.

"But the monkeys commend you for your victorious victory." Miranda said in a funny voice while Suri made animal growling sounds.

"St-op.." Jake whined again, though it was a strain through the laughing.

"You kits have fun?" Chance finally asked, clearing his throat loudly. Jason's head shot up and then he groaned and clutched it.

"A blast." Miranda slid off the table. "Hey Mama."

"You two look like you wore the boys out." Connie tried to assess what had taken place.

"The _boys_ wore themselves out." Suri grinned. "Jason challenged Jake to a deep fried cookie eating contest."

"First one to puke lost." Miranda added.

"Lovely." Ofelia added. "And who won?"

"Jake, surprisingly." Suri supplied. "He is also no longer allowed to play that game with the stacked bottles because he upset the host." She held up her bright orange monkey.

"I wasn't cheating!" Jake defended. "You okay, Jason?"

"Yeah." Jason pushed himself up from the table.

Chance sat down Lucy, smiling a little when she ran over to her brother. "Did you win me anything?" She asked innocently.

"Not for lack of trying." Jason scratched her between the ears. "See you at school Monday."

Chance watched, one by one, as Suri left with her family and Miranda left with hers until it was just him and Jake. "So that's Miranda?" He pulled himself onto the table. "You like her or just trying to make nice?"

"Just trying to make nice." Jake said quietly.

Chance gave Jake a critical look. "The things we do to impress the ladies. They're gone now, so if you're gonna hurl, do it before we leave."  
"Thank God," Jake moaned, quickly pushing himself up.

* * *

Chance sat the bottle of pink liquid on the table next to Jake's bed and dropped down next to the young tom. "Seriously, did you have fun?"

Jake gratefully reached for the bottle and tried to twist the cap off with one paw. "Yeah." He handed it to Chance waited for him to open it before he took a swig of it, screwing his face up at the overbearing minty flavor. "And, at the same time, I don't ever want to see another deep fried anything."

Chance chuckled. "Yeah, that's the beauty of the whole once a year thing. Your friend Jason is probably moaning about it too." He took the bottle back from Jake and held onto it for a moment. "So you give any thought to what you want to do next weekend?"

Jake blinked tiredly at him. "For what?"

"Your birthday. You made such a big deal about being almost fourteen." Chance sat the bottle down near the lamp. "Suri's parents and Jason's mom all gave the okay for them to come over. I figure, once we get the Swat Kats off the ground, there really won't be a way for you to have your friends over. You could invite Miranda too, if you wanted to."

Jake yawned loudly. "What would we do?"

"I could order a pizza, get a cake. You know, birthday party food? You could watch some movies." Chance suggested.

"Slumber party," Jake smirked.

"Sure." Chance said. "Jason could stay the night."  
"Aw." Jake pouted. "You're no fun."

"Are you kidding?" Chance teased. "I wrote the book on fun. There's just an age limit. And that's 21 and up."  
Jake snorted. "Okay... so.. as long as the girls are at least 21, they can spend the night."

Chance stared at Jake. "There ya go. Except... you're not invited to those parties."

"So not cool..." Jake mumbled, exhausted from the cool night air and excessive rides and junk food.

"Nope." Chance agreed. "Not cool at all." He stood up. "Good night."

"Night, Chance..." Jake said, yawning again and then curling up beneath the heavy comforter and sheets.

* * *

"And then when you screamed when the clown jumped out from behind that mirror..." Miranda laughed, turned around in her desk so she could talk about the fair with Jake.

Ms. Klim paused before starting her class, surprised to see the two talking animatedly, Jake wildly gesticulating with the arm in a cast. She cleared her throat loudly. "It sounds like several of you enjoyed the fair this weekend. It is time, however, to review what we've learned in the first half of the semester. Thursday and Friday are mid-term exams, and I want all of you to be prepared." She shot one more suspicious look in Jake and Miranda's direction before instructing the class to open their Literature books.

First period went by faster than usual, and then Jake found himself in science class, where, like all his other classes, they were preparing for exams. He looked curiously at the board where Mr. Teele had drawn out the entire Periodic Table, except, all the boxes were empty.

"Alright," Mr. Teele addressed his students, pushing his glasses up his nose. "In preparation for our exams, I've decided to spring a little pop quiz on all of you." There was a unified groan throughout the room. "You will all find a similar drawing on your desks. I would like you to fill in the boxes with the appropriate element. Then, after the time for the quiz has elapsed, I will ask one of you to fill in the blanks on the board." He picked up his stopwatch. "You may begin... now."

Jake stared blankly at the empty squares for a moment and then closed his eyes, attempting to pull the answers up from his memory. Remembering which abbreviations represented which elements was one thing. Remembering the exact layout was something completely different. Was it a trick question? Did he really just want to make sure all of the elements had been learned? No. Jake shook his head. He asked that the boxes be filled in with the "appropriate elements." He felt his stomach knot up the way it had when Ms. Klim told him he'd failed, and he sucked in a deep breath. Five minutes elapsed before he even started to write anything down and he found himself beginning to panic. "You have to learn how to fail gracefully." He swallowed the lump in his throat when he remembered his conversation with Rita just a few days ago. "Fuck," he mouthed. "Here goes nothing." Quickly he began filling in the empty boxes, reminding himself that the elements were divided into categories, color coated on the actual chart: Alkali Metals, Alkali Earth Metals, Transition Metals, Other Metals, Metalloids, Other Non Metals, Halogens, Noble Gases and Rare Earth Metals. He adjusted his pencil in his left paw and then shifted the paper, struggling to get it right with still half a chart to fill in when the timer went off.

"Pencils down!" Mr. Teele said sharply.

"Crud," Jake hissed softly, dropping his pencil and letting his shoulders sink.

"Pass your tests to the front." The teacher instructed and walked along the rows to pick up the papers, inspecting them as he collected them. His eyes flickered over Jake for a brief moment, surprise evident. Finally he reached the opposite end of the room. "Mr. Clawson," he smiled.

Jake's heart sank when he realized that he wasn't being graded on the quiz. His was the one on the board. "If you would so kindly fill in the correct answers on the board."

Jake stared at the taunting, blank squares, closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and stood up. Instead of approaching the board, however, he left the classroom. Once out in the hall, Jake collapsed into a sitting position on the floor, his back against the lockers as he tried to sort out why this was a problem. It wasn't long before he looked up to find Mr. Teele crouched in front of him.  
"Jake," he said quietly. "Are you alright?"

The teen looked up with wide green eyes and shook his head.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Mr. Teele remembered the conversation he'd had with the boy's guardian and hoped that this wasn't the breakdown he'd seen coming. When he saw tears glistening in Jake's eyes, he sighed. "Talk to me."

"I can't do it." His voice came out hushed and the words hurried. "I mean, name the elements sure, but in all the right places, in the right order in fifteen minutes." Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I already got one 'F' and the she-kat from kitten services said if my GPA dropped they'd be all over Chance like it was his fault and then I end up in some foster home with kats I don't know." Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating.

"Hey," Mr. Teele struggled to get Jake to focus on him. "Look at me."

Jake shook his head and buried his face in his knees.

The large teacher stood up and poked his head into the classroom, asking one of the students to grab Jake's things and then went to get a teacher from another class to watch his for a moment.

* * *

Chance was angry at first when Mrs. Jenkins, the school secretary, called him. When she said that Jake had some sort of anxiety attack, however, he found himself rushing to the school, worried. Anxiety and Jake were two things he just didn't put together. Then he spotted Mr. Teele in the office when he came through the doors. "What happened?"

Mr. Teele shook his head. "I sprung an impossible test on them and he had a complete meltdown."

"What do you mean 'impossible'?" Chance forced his temper down.

"I mean, I wasn't expecting anyone to get it right. And it wasn't even going to be graded. I just wanted to see what was being retained. I had planned to have Jake be the one to fill in the correct answers on the board. I mean, this is his forte, I figured he'd knock it out without even thinking and it's like he just froze up. He walked right out of my class, sat down in the hall way and fell apart."

Chance furrowed his brow. That didn't sound like Jake at all. "I don't understand."

"He was crying and going on about having already failed something and that kitten services were going to put him in a foster home. It just didn't make any sense." Mr. Teele looked just as frazzled and confused as Chance felt.

"Where is he?" Chance sucked in a breath.

"He's with the nurse," Mrs. Jenkins said, motioning for him to follow.

Chance paused in the slightly open doorway to look at Jake, sitting on the cot with his back rigid against the wall, knees pulled up and arms wrapped around them, his black, fraying cast glaringly obvious, and he was shaking. He was breathing in short, quick breaths, hiccuping every now and then. Chance felt a surge of guilt. He'd arranged to have this kind of pressure put on Jake, trying to light a fire under him. He knocked softly on the doorway, just enough to get the teen's attention. "Can I come in?"

Jake gave a jerky nod, not bothering to follow Chance with his eyes.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Chance asked, reaching an arm around the quivering young tom.

"I dunno." Jake shuddered. "I just... my whole brain went blank and I tried to tell myself it was a trick question, that it didn't matter if I got all the answers right, that it wasn't that big of a deal. Then he tells me to put the correct answers on the board and I remembered you said he was grading me on participation, and the 'F' Mrs. Klim gave me... I just... I freaked. I completely freaked out."

Chance felt Jake lean into him. "Jake, how long has it been since you had a basic science class?"

Jake weakly shook his head. "Four, five years."

"Do you honestly think your teacher expects you to remember this stuff 100 percent?" Chance tilted his head to get a better look at Jake.

"Why else would he throw out quizzes on it." Jake looked up with watery eyes.

"It wasn't being graded." Chance explained. "I already talked to Mr. Teele."

"Then why do it?" Jake sucked in a shaky breath.

"To see what you've learned." Chance replied. "You're worried about what Susan said? About her putting you in the system..." He sighed. "That's my fault. I told her that I didn't think you were taking this seriously and what she was telling you was the extreme of what would happen. And unless you completely fail a class and risk being held back, she won't get involved."

Jake's eyes widened and he shoved Chance away. "So I just... I just had a panic attack for absolutely no reason?"

Chance shook his head. "I wouldn't call that 'no reason'. And I'm sorry it put so much stress on you."

"God, Chance..." Jake dropped his head. "I'm not used to this. I'm not used to not knowing the answers and then these teachers, they deliberately set me up to not know the answers. And I've got your mom in my head telling me I need to learn how to screw up right."

"She right." Chance nodded his head. "Like when you were learning Jujitsu, they taught you how to take a hit so that you could keep fighting back."

"Rita said kind of the same thing... just different." Jake sucked in a deep breath. "You really had her scare me just so I'd listen to you?"

"I just wanted you to know how serious of a situation we're in. I didn't think she'd tell you anything that would lead to you having a crisis over it." Chance heaved a sigh. "I'm really sorry."

Jake quickly wiped his eyes again. "It's okay."

"You sure?" Chance gave Jake a firm one-armed hug.

"Yeah." Jake offered a weak smile.

"Can you make it through the rest of the day?" Chance asked, looking at the time, and not wanting to ruin his attendance anymore for the semester than it was.

"Yeah." Jake nodded. "I think I'll be okay."

"Good." Chance stood up. "Don't forget to ask your friends about this Saturday."

Jake nodded. "Hey Chance..."

Chance paused on his way out.

"Thanks. For, you know, just dropping whatever you were doing. No one else would've done that." Jake bit the inside of his cheek after he said it and blinked back the onslaught of tears that threatened once again.

"That's what family does, Jake. You don't ever have to thank me for that." Chance offered a reassuring smile before he left.

_**

* * *

A little blue in the gray. A little sweet with the sour. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	12. Birthday

_**I don't really have any prologue type commentary to add to this chapter. I just felt like I should type something here. Thank you, Cody Furlong, again, for your wonderful reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story.**_

_**Nyte Kat  
**_

* * *

"Stop worrying about it." Chance took Jake's notes away from him. "Eat so we can go."

Jake paused, staring at the empty spot on the table where his notebook had been.

"You've had your nose stuck in your books since Monday." Chance dropped into the chair. "I already told you, it doesn't matter how you do on the exams."

Jake nodded tiredly and made haste finishing his cereal. "If I don't fail because I have the wrong answers, it's going to be because I fell asleep halfway through," he thought.

The ride to school that followed breakfast was short. As he got out of the car and walked into the building, Jake remembered his first real college final. He'd been a nervous wreck then. His roommate, a nineteen year old pot smoker, called it 'test anxiety'. "Deep breaths," he reminded himself as he struggled to recall what Ms. Klim had gone over during the first half of the semester; things from A Midsummer Night's Dream to SAT vocabulary words to proper sentence structure. Jake cursed himself for his cockiness at the beginning, thinking that, because he was so much smarter, that he didn't need to take notes. He might have learned more than his peers, but he'd discovered that he'd forgotten far more than they'd learn in the next four years.

"What's up, kat?" Jason practically materialized out of nowhere. "You look like a zombie."  
Jake offered a wane smile. "I'm so ready to get these last two exams out of the way."  
"And then it's the weekend." Jason grinned. "So movies and pizza at your place?"

"Kind of." Jake made a face. "We're doing it at Chance's mom's house."  
Jason frowned. "If Chance is your brother, that would make her your mom."

"Except Chance isn't biologically my brother. _Technically_ he's my guardian. Rita's his mom and my mom's dead." It came out more bitter than Jake had intended.

"My bad." Jason held up his paws defensively. "Sheesh, you're so grumpy when you're worried about stuff."  
Jake scoffed. "I'm not worried about anything. I just.. didn't get much sleep."

"Because you were freaking out about your grades." Jason snorted. "Just be glad we won't get our grades until next week, because once my mom sees what I'm about to make on my Government/Economics mid-term, I won't be going anywhere for the next century."

Jake's eyes narrowed into slits. "You aren't helping. Where's Suri?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "The orchestra had an early morning rehearsal. And then her exam is right after that since that's her first period."

Jake blinked. "Suri's in the orchestra? What's she play?"

"The viola." Jason sounded out the word.

"The what?" Jake frowned.

"It's an overgrown violin with a deeper sound." Jason shrugged. "But if you ask her about it, she'll lecture you on its vital contribution to classical music." He spotted Miranda, her hair not nearly as perfect as usual and her clothes far more casual. She was looking around anxiously. "Lo, the Mighty Miranda approaches from afar." He whispered.

Jake looked up, and winced. "She looks like crap."

"Jake," she huffed, her eyes bloodshot with heavy bags underneath them. "Quick! Ask me something that might be on the exam!"

Jake's eyes widened. "Uh.. category?"

Her eyes darted back and forth as if looking at her notes. "Literature."

Jake's face twisted into a grimace. "Um... Okay... why was Oberon originally upset with Titania?"

Miranda pulled her paws into fists and closed her eyes, holding her breath while she tried to recall the answer. Distraught, she exhaled loudly and glared at Jake. "What's the answer?"

Jake bit his lip sharply before answering. "I don't know. I was kind of hoping you would."

Miranda let out a low, painful sounding moan.

"I'll... I'll see you two at lunch." Jason gave them a worried look before going towards his own class just as the first bell rang.

* * *

"So did you blow chunks this time?" Suri teased, setting her tray down near Jake's and stepping over the bench to sit.

"Nope." Jake chuckled.

"No world-class breakdown?" She prodded.

"Not today." He half-smiled. "So.. how was orchestra?"

Suri frowned. "Jason told you, didn't he?"

"Yep." Jake eyed the pen sticking out of one of her pockets. "Can I borrow that?"

"Sure." She handed it to him. "Don't ever tell him any secrets."

"Seriously." Jake laughed, cramming the pen down into his cast.

"What are you doing?" Suri gasped, a look of disgust on her face.

"Do you have any idea how bad this itches?" Jake was practically purring from relief as he worked the pen around the inside of the plaster coated padding.

"Ew." She shuddered. "You can just hang on to that when you're finished. Where is Jason, by the way?"

Jake nodded towards the lunch line. "Still up there somewhere. So... are you coming over tomorrow?"

"It was kind of short notice." Suri gave him a serious look.

Jake's face fell. "Yeah, but I wasn't planning on doing anything." He pouted.

"Chill out, spaz." She shook her head. "I'm going to be there."

"Going to be where?" Miranda asked, sitting down just as Jason was finally walking towards them.

"Uh..." Suri looked away, knowing Jake hadn't invited her.

"Jake's birthday party." Jason answered unthinkingly.

"Oh." Miranda replied quietly. "How old are you going to be? Ten?"

"Fourteen." Jake corrected. "And it isn't even a party. You're welcome to come if you want. We're just going to watch a couple of movies."  
Miranda shook her head. "Finally catching up to the rest of us?"

Jake huffed and rolled his eyes. "_Technically_ I'm light years ahead of the three of you. Do you want to come or not?"

Miranda nonchalantly shrugged. "Why not? I don't have anything better to do."  
"Right." Jake shared a look with Jason before using the pen he'd been scratching his arm with to write down the address and the time.

* * *

Chance looked out at the fading light and then back towards the office door. It was almost time to close up for the day. And Jake had spent every moment since he got home from school down in the hangar, saying he wanted to finish up something. Finally, Chance decided to just lock up early and go check out what the big secret was. As he was closing the bay doors, he heard Jake come out of the office. "Right on time," the teen grinned.

"Ready to spill the beans on this top secret project of yours?" Chance covered his curiosity with aggravation.

"Oh yeah." Jake was practically bursting at the seams. "But you'll have to check it out downstairs."

Chance followed Jake, eagerly waiting to see what he could have possibly managed to build with one paw.

"You ready?" Jake paused in front of the work bench where a pair of objects were covered by a sheet.

"Yep." Chance replied.

Jake quickly tugged the sheet off the table, revealing a pair of gauntlets, one significantly larger than the other. "It's designed for the right paw so you get to give it the first real test."

Chance picked up the larger one and turned it over in his paws. "If I put this on, am I going to be electrocuted?"

Jake shook his head. "No... well... it's not probable."

Chance sucked in a nervous breath and slid it on. "So how's it work?"

"The weapons control is near the wrist. Choose a weapon, make a fist and then squeeze to fire it." Jake instructed. "I made a test dummy for you to fire at." He pointed across the room.

"Nice." Chance chuckled at the body form with an old Enforcer t-shirt on it. "So, what do I have to choose from?"

"Just a few simple things right now." Jake said. "Mini bolo missiles, a smaller version of the cement launcher I'm working on for the jet, and then one that's actually kind of dangerous. That's a surprise. Just make sure you're pointing away from us."

Chance looked down at the small panel near his wrist and pressed the first button. The thin flat plate on top of the weapon quickly transformed into a barrel like shape. He curled his paw into a fist, finding it easy to make a comfortable fist without tightening it. Then he squeezed it, bracing himself for any sort of kick that might come from whichever weapon came out. There was surprisingly little as a pair of balls exploded out of the tip and then separated into two bolo ropes and wrapped tightly around the mannequin. "Nice!" Chance cheered going over to the form to check how tightly they'd secured the target. "This would definitely disarm an enemy. Awesome."

Jake shrugged. "That's not the best one. You've still got two more kinds of ammo to try."  
Chance removed the ropes and tossed them to Jake on his way back to where he'd originally fired from. He pressed the second button and the plate shifted again, turning the double barrel into a single one. The tabby went through the same motions and fired off a series of thick globes of quick drying cement, each time sending his shoulder back just a hair. "That would really suck to get in the face."

"Yeah." Jake chuckled. "Trust me, it dries really fast." He looked almost sheepish.

"Dare I ask?" Chance asked, amused.

"It's better that you didn't." Jake frowned. "Alright." He handed Chance a pair of safety goggles. "Just in case."

"Should I be worried?" Chance frowned when Jake also put on a pair.

"Not really." Jake shrugged. "I just haven't really been able to test this part."

"Great." Chance pressed the last button and prepared to fire. Almost too fast for him to see, a trio of thin circular blades exploded from the weapon, landing in different parts of the dummy with terminal force. "Holy shit!" He pulled off the glasses and jogged over to the target. "If this wasn't a metal frame, these would've gone straight through."

"Yeah. I told you the last ones were deadly." Jake maintained a serious expression in spite of how giddy he felt seeing his design work properly.

"No kidding?" Chance huffed, using a great deal of force to pull one of the buzz-saw blades free. "This could definitely level the playing field. What's it called?"

"For lack of a more creative name." Jake made a face. "The Glovatrix."

"Works for me." Chance gingerly set it back down on the table.

"It's designed to take a beating." Jake told him. "And, if you don't have any weapons selected, it adds significant force to your punch."

"Not bad for having one paw pretty much tied behind your back." Chance grinned.

"Well, I had mine pretty much done when I fell. Since I couldn't really test it, I figured I'd build yours and use you as a guinea pig." Jake smirked.

"Oh thanks." Chance teased. "Seriously, that's kick ass. I can't wait to really see it in action."

"I have a few more mods I'd like to make but I'm going to need both paws for that." Jake shrugged off the compliment.

"Trust me, if this is what you can do with only one, I can't wait to see what you can do with two." Chance chuckled. "Are you done building dangerous stuff? Because I'm starving."  
"Me too." Jake double checked the safety on Chance's Glovatrix before heading for the stairs. "What are we having?"

"What do you want?"

Jake paused to give Chance a very serious look. After a few long moments he shook his head. "Mac and cheese?"

Chance laughed. "Mac and cheese?"

"I don't know. I was just throwing out an idea." Jake laughed as well.

"How about Chinese?" Chance suggested.

"Okay."

"And then we can check out the movies and see if there's anything good playing." He added.

"There's that new horror one about the kitten that talks to ghosts." Jake's eyes lit up.

"Sounds good to me." Chance replied.

* * *

Chance sat down on the couch near Jake's feet and shook his head. He'd told the kit that he should just go to bed, but Jake was adamant that he wasn't tired. "Not tired my tail," the tabby muttered, shooting the sleeping teen an amused look. He would have argued with him about it but Jake's mood had shifted dramatically from the time they went into the movie to the time they left, like something had upset him. "Better to just let him have his way on this one." Chance thought, not wanting to get into it when things had been rather peaceful for a whole week. He wasn't about to ruin it the night before his birthday. Reaching for the remote, he started to search the channels for something better than late night infomercials and scandalous romances without any real plot.

"Wake up."

Chance mashed the mute button and looked at Jake. Had he said that? It was just above a whisper and probably the most terrified voice he'd ever heard.

"You gotta wake up." Jake whimpered in his sleep.

Concerned, Chance reached a paw out to gently rouse him. When his paw touched Jake's side, the teen gasped and kicked out forcefully, connected with his guardian's midsection. Winded, Chance gasped for breath.

Jake was on his feet before he realized what he'd done. "Chance!" His heart felt like it was breaking land speed records. "Crud, I'm sorry. You scared the hell out of me!"

"Yeah well..." Chance winced. "Damn..."

"Do you... um... want an ice pack or something?" Jake backed away, unconsciously worried that Chance would retaliate.

Chance shook his head and stood up, hoping a good stretch would ease the pain. Jake flinched immediately. "Relax, kit. You didn't mean to."

Jake nervously chuckled, his cheeks warm with embarrassment. "I really am sorry."

"You were talking in your sleep." Chance explained why he'd been trying to wake him up. "What were you dreaming about?"

Jake's mouth hung open for a moment. "Nothing."  
Chance looked at him with disbelief. "You just kicked the kitty litter out of me. You owe me."

Jake swallowed nervously. "I... um..." He dropped back down onto the couch. "You know at the end of that movie we just saw? Where she's in the car with her mom and they get into that car wreck?"  
"Yeah." Chance rubbed his abdomen with his paw. "She wakes up because she hears someone talking to her and it's her mom and then she looks at the driver's seat and her mom's splattered all over the windshield."

Jake nodded, wincing at how simply Chance described it. "Well... except for creepy ghost mom waking her up, that's _exactly_ how it looked when my mom flipped the car the night she... when she said we were leaving."

"Christ, Jake..." Chance whispered, then cringed. "It... it wasn't so much _splattered_ as... well... I mean..."

Jake shook his head. "Chance, it's... 'splattered' is pretty accurate." He took a deep breath and tried to force the images out of his head.

"You okay?" Chance asked.

"Yeah I just..." Jake screwed up his face, trying to keep from getting upset.

"Never really talked about it?" Chance finished.

"Something like that," Jake replied softly, looking towards the television for something distracting. His eyes widened at the 'She-Kats Gone Wild' commercial playing silently.

Chance looked from Jake to the TV and sighed. "Kit, you don't even know what you're looking at," he teased and turned it off.

"Whatever," Jake mumbled.

Chance sighed, knowing the moment was lost. "Go to bed already."

Jake stood back up. "Really didn't mean to kick you."

"Don't sweat it. I just won't wake you up within kicking range anymore." Chance laughed it off.

* * *

"Okay." Jason pulled himself up into a sitting position on the wooden fence surrounding Rita Furlong's very large backyard. "Your Kung Fu verses Jake's Jujitsu. Ultimate Fighter style."

Jake laughed. "I'm not going to hit Suri."

"You are just afraid that I hit harder than you." Suri taunted.

"Not possible." Jake grinned.

"Then let's go." Suri assumed her fighting stance. "Mmoja mmoja."

Jake tilted his head in confusion. "Come again?"

"That's what she said." Jason joked, drawing a ridiculous laugh from his friends.

"It means 'one on one'." Suri purred dangerously. "Unless you really are afraid."

"Bring it." Jake readied himself for a fight.

* * *

Rita watched through the screen on the back porch, arms folded over her chest. "You going to break that up?"  
As much as Chance liked watching Jake demonstrate his fighting skill, he could see where this was going. Jake wasn't much of a grapple-style fighter, but those were the moves he seemed to be choosing. He shook his head, chuckling softly, earning him a glare from his mother. "What? They're just kits."

Rita was about to remind him about teenage hormones when the doorbell rang. "That was quick. I just ordered the pizza."

"I'll get it." Chance was suddenly serious, his protective nature rising up. When he opened the door to find Miranda with a perfectly wrapped box in his paws, he was surprised but didn't let it show. "You didn't need to bring a gift," he told her with a polite smile.

"It _is_ his birthday, correct?" She blinked up at Chance, afraid she'd made some sort of mistake regarding Jake's views on gift giving and receiving.

"Well, yeah..." Chance laughed at her serious expression. "Jake's just... weird. I'll take it. They're all in the backyard." He took the gift from her paws and put it in the living room with the things Suri and Jason gave him, even though they were told not to bring gifts as well.

Miranda paused in the yard, blinking at how Jake had Suri pinned on her back in the grass. Stoically, she pushed down the feelings of jealousy and approached them. "What on earth are you doing?"

Jake looked up; his legs intertwined with Suri's so that she was stuck on her back and unable to get up. "Sparring."

"Is that what they call it these days?" Miranda's ears flicked forward just a hair.

"Yeah, maybe you two should get a room." Jason joined her in the teasing.

Jake rolled his eyes and untangled himself from Suri, his blush disguised by his reddish-brown fur. "So... uh... who wants to watch a movie?"

* * *

"So what do you think?" Rita whispered to her son. "Which one does he have the crush on?"

"Suri without a doubt." Chance whispered back, watching from the dining room as the four teens sat either on the couch or the floor, watching a comedy. "He can't stand Miranda."

"Then why did he invite her?" Rita folded her arms over her breasts.

"I don't know." Chance scratched his chin. "I can't tell if he feels bad for her or what." His eyes flickered back and forth over the group. Jason didn't seem interested in either of the girls. Jake kept catching himself staring at Suri while Miranda seemed to be doing the same to Jake. He sucked in a breath. "I got it."

Rita looked at him questioningly. "Well?"

"Jake likes Suri and Miranda likes Jake." Chance whispered. "Jason's just along for the ride and Suri's hard to read."

Rita smirked. "So he's head over heels for a she-kat that doesn't seem interested while someone he can barely stand is barely containing her jealousy."

"You read too many cheap romance novels." Chance flinched.

* * *

"So, for not wanting any presents, you got a lot of presents." Chance teased as he and Jake went back to their home at the salvage yard.

"Yeah, apparently I'm an expert at reverse psychology without even trying." Jake joked.

"So what's the deal with Miranda?" Chance finally asked. "I thought you couldn't stand her."

Jake made a face. "Isn't there something to be said about being nice? I wasn't going to invite her but then Jason and his big mouth started talking about what we were going to be doing. And she gave me this look like I was an asshole for not inviting her."

Chance shook his head. He didn't have a problem with Jake swearing, but it was like hearing a much younger kitten drop the 'f' bomb. "And the fair?"

"What am I supposed to do? Just treat her like crap because her brother is a douche?" Jake immediately got defensive. "Besides, I'm sure Ms. Klim will make us work on something else together before the end of the semester. I might as well try and be her friend."

"She seems like she really likes you." Chance tried not to laugh at the look of disgust on Jake's face.

"She's such a snob. And she always thinks she's right." Jake shook his head.

"She's not ugly." Chance added.

"Until something upsets her and she starts crying." Jake leered. "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why you keep having someone around that you claim you can't stand." Chance looked suspiciously at the teen.

"Like I said." Jake turned his attention to the passing scenery. "I'm just being nice."

"Uh huh." Chance replied, not entirely sure he believed him


	13. Growing Pains

_**A little teenage awkwardness. Because I have to torture Jake somehow. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_

* * *

"Alright, class." Mr. Teele spoke as he closed the classroom door. "Who can tell me what's different today?"  
Several students raised their paws but he called on the one kat that seemed determined not to willingly answer his questions. "Jake."

"Um..." Jake looked up from his notebook. Truth be told, he hadn't really been paying attention. Slowly he looked around. "Half the class is absent?"

"Close. You all will notice that the female populace has seemingly vanished. That is because, for the next two weeks, we will be stepping away from our regular science broadcast," he grinned at his own humor. "So that you can all receive your required lesson in Sex Education."

There was a mixed chorus of chuckles and groans. Jake frowned, closed his eyes and raised his paw.

"Yes, Mr. Clawson?" Mr. Teele asked, as he began handing out a different set of books.

"What about our mid-term results?"

"Those will have been mailed to your home." He answered simply. "Now I know this is going to be hard for some of you." There were a few more stifled chuckles. "But I'm going to ask you to be as mature as possible."

Jake casually opened the book to a random point and instantly felt his ears burn before closing it. "The things they _don't_ teach you in college," he thought.

* * *

Chance pulled the truck into the parking lot of the old military surplus store. He'd received a call from a tom whose truck had gotten stuck in a ditch. Since there wasn't anything that immediately needed his attention, he wanted to take the time to look for a pair of flight suits, g-suits if he could find them. He recalled Jake having trouble managing the higher levels of acceleration force, often experiencing GLOC when they'd reached nine or ten Gs. As he searched, a flash of brown leather caught his eyes. Curious, Chance bypassed the shelves of fatigues and battle dress uniforms for a rack of jackets. A grin spread across his face as he plucked out the Megawar II bomber jacket. The leather was worn soft at this point, but the thick lining was still in fine condition. He'd just mentioned to Jake that morning about how it was getting too cold just to wear a sweatshirt. Megakat City winters were frigid, and fall wasn't all that forgiving. "It's a little big," he thought. "And not quite what the gunners wore back then but definitely better than the hoody."

The small, dusty, dimly lit store was right up Chance's ally. He could have spent all day in there if it wasn't necessary for him to get back to work at some point. Eventually, he managed to find what he was looking for. There really weren't any in Jake's size. "He'll grow," Chance reminded himself. He scratched his head, wondering what it would take to dye the grayish blue suits.

* * *

Jake looked anxiously around the cafeteria. Where was Suri? He hadn't seen her that morning either. He'd spotted Miranda chatting with one of her snobbish friends and quickly ducked out of sight, remembering what Chance said about her liking him.

"What are you doing?" Jason tapped him on the shoulder.

Jake spun around. "Where were you this morning? I couldn't find anybody."

"Ah... I had a doctor's appointment." Jason ducked his head. "I had a bad asthma attack yesterday and my mom freaked out and set me up to see the doc."

Jake's eyes widened. "So she isn't unnecessarily over-reacting when she calls you out in front of everyone?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes she is." Jason grimaced.

"What about Suri?" Jake looked around again.

"She's got a big recital tomorrow night. She probably had rehearsal this morning, and she usually spends her lunch period practicing." Jason explained.

"Oh." Jake looked disappointed.

"I'm not really hungry today. We could skip lunch to go listen to her play." Jason suggested.

"We can do that?" Jake's ears perked up.

"Yeah. It's not off limits." Jason chuckled. "Plus, it will keep Miranda from finding you."

"I like the way you think." Jake was more than happy to walk away from the cafeteria.

* * *

The orchestra room doors were cracked open and there was the sound of only one instrument coming out. Jake pulled the door open a little more, giving him a full view of Suri, standing with her back straight, the string instrument on her shoulder and head tilted and turned so that she looked as if she might be asleep. Her eyes were closed, but her face reflected that of someone intensely focused. The bow in her right paw danced gracefully back and forth over the strings, her wrist movements fluid. The piece was something classical.

Sensing she was being watched, Suri opened her eyes. Pausing mid stroke, she blinked at her two friends watching from the doorway. Jason waved stupidly. "You can come in, you know."  
"Nah." Jason said. "My book for my next class is in my locker and that's at the other side of the school. I'll see you two later."  
Jake watched him go and felt suddenly nervous. He cleared his throat and stepped into the large room. "That was... incredible." He paused mid-sentence to find the best adjective.

"Thanks. I've been playing since I was eight. By now I would hope to have developed some sort of talent." Suri blushed only slightly.

"Why not the violin?" Jake asked. "Seems like the same instrument."

"Not quite." Suri plucked the farthest and thickest string with her pinky. "Violin has an E string. The viola has a C string. It's more like a cello for the shoulder than a violin, really."

"Interesting." Jake examined the instrument from somewhat of a distance. "So why do you play?"

"My parents felt that I should be involved in some sort of music class. I chose the viola because it was different." She explained. "I used to hate playing, but now I enjoy it almost as much as I do martial arts."

"Almost?" Jake smiled slightly.

"What about you?" She stepped off the podium behind the conductors stand and approached an open case on a chair. "Can you play any instruments?"

Jake shrugged. "When I was six or seven, while I was in an alternative school, our housekeeper made an effort to teach me to play the piano."

"Did you retain any of it?" Suri's ears perked forward with interest.

"I.. uh..." His eyes drifted over to the piano in the corner of the room. "I don't know. I haven't touched one since she got fired."

"What'd she get fired for?" Suri walked backwards to the piano.

"Not sure really." Jake tilted his head in thought.

Suri grinned. "Wanna give it a shot?"

"I don't know." Jake sucked in his bottom lip. "I doubt I can really go toe to toe with you on this one."

"Come on." She lifted the cover over the keys.

Jake waved his broken arm at her. "I've only got one paw."  
"One of my favorite bands has a one armed drummer." Suri tapped the bench and pouted.

"Alright." He sighed. "As long as you still like me if I suck."  
"Who said I liked you?" Suri huffed.

"Right." Jake winced and sat down on the bench so that she was on his right. He fingered the keys in a test to remember how they were supposed to sound. "Okay, something easy. No Beethoven."

"Chopsticks?"

"How's that go again?" Jake managed his most sincere blank stare.

"Are you serious?" Suri sighed.

"I'm kidding." Jake chuckled and lightly tapped the appropriate keys on the left. "Are you going to do your half or not?"

* * *

When Chance pulled into the student pick up lane, he saw Jake in his usual spot, talking animatedly to Jason and bit back the smile that threatened. A few weeks ago, Jake would have looked sullen and bored. It was good to see him laughing and finally finding kats his own age with something in common. Chance was just about to honk the horn to get his attention when Jake saw him. An unexpected gust of wind swept through and nearly pulled his cap from his head as he jogged to the truck.

"Did you get my grades for my exams?" Jake asked the moment he was in the truck.

"Yep." Chance said.

"How'd I do?"

Chance was surprised at the amount of nervousness he heard. "How do you think you did?"

"That depends on which class we're talking about." Jake looked down at his feet. The shoes Rita had purchased for him nearly a month ago still perfectly clean in a testament to his appreciation for the new clothes.

"You can check it out when we get home." Chance thought about his find at the surplus store and hoped it would more than make up for the disappointment Jake was going to experience. "How was school?"  
Jake shrugged, now too worried about his grades to really remember anything worth sharing. "Aside from not being able to keep Miranda from talking to me in English now?"

"Nice." Chance smirked.

"Yeah." Jake sighed. "And this whole broken arm thing really sucks."

"Relax. You go next week to get it x-ray'd and hopefully get the cast off." Chance reminded him.

"Trust me." Jake huffed. "I haven't forgotten." He sighed. "I don't think I'm going to be able to work on the jet this week."

"Why not?" Chance frowned.

"Ms. Klim dropped a Hemingway on us. How come teachers don't ever assign science-fiction?" Jake complained.

Chance shrugged. "I kind of like Hemingway."

Jake's eyes widened. "Are you nuts?"

"Not entirely." Chance smirked, pulling into the salvage yard.

Jake dropped his backpack on the couch in the waiting area. "Alright. Where is it?"

Chance went into the office to retrieve the envelope that had come with the mail. "You'll have to wait to see your actually exams in class. All I have are the grades." He explained.

Jake pulled the folded papers from the envelope, hesitating just before opening them. Almost immediately his ears flattened and he dropped onto the couch.

"A 'B' is still really good." Chance offered.

"In English?" Jake shook his head. "That 'F' killed me. But it's not half as upsetting as the C in Science." He dropped the paper, ignoring the other two perfect grades.

"It's just the midterm; you can easily bring that up by the end of the semester." Chance sat down next to him.

Jake sucked in a breath. "Yeah."

"It's not that big of a deal." Chance reminded.

"I got it." Jake snapped. "Just forget about it, okay?"

"Alright." Chance stood up. "I got a surprise for ya." He went to the door leading to the shop and opened it just enough to pull out a pair of paper bags. "Check these out." He handed Jake the first bag.

The teen set it down on the couch and used his one paw to pull out the lightweight item.

"Oh sweet!" Jake's mood instantly changed as he took in the flight suit. He looked in the bag again, finding a second one. "These are perfect."

"I tried to find an actual g-suit for ya but I couldn't." Chance frowned. "If we can find the parts to build a simulator, though, we can actually work on our tolerance."

"That's doable." Jake's eyes clouded over as his brain started to work out the possibility.

"Yeah. Hang on before you go into design mode on me." Chance chuckled. "You've got homework and I've got one more thing for ya." He handed Jake the other bag.

Jake's eyes lit up as he removed the heavy jacket. "Chance," he breathed. "These are expensive."

"Usually." Chance shrugged. "I got this one on special."

"How?" Jake held the soft buttery leather between his paws.

"This one's seen combat." Chance held up one of the sleeves and pointed out a line of stitching in the sleeve.

Jake noticed how the leather was stained almost black around the stitching and he turned it inside out. Sure enough, the cream colored fleece lining was stained in the same spot. "Creepy... and awesome all at once."

"Try it on." Chance held it up so Jake could easily slide his arms into it. After he'd done so, he stood back to look at the teen. "Take off your hat."  
Jake pulled it off and tossed it onto the couch.

"Hmm." Chance scratched his chin. "You're missing something." He looked around the waiting area and spotted a pair of sunglasses that someone had left behind. Grinning, he snagged them and then made quick work of smoothing back Jake's hair, giving it that slicked back look. "Now put these on."

Jake had just slipped the shades on when the bell on the door jingled.

"Well..." Callie Briggs paused to look at the pair. "Don't you look handsome." She winked at Jake.

Jake chuckled nervously, dragging a paw through his hair and looking away, feeling more than the temperature in the room rise.

"Miss Briggs." Chance smiled at the deputy mayor. "What's wrong with your car now?"

"It's making a really really strange sound. And since City Hall shut down early so the mayor could get some time on the links, I wanted to try and catch you before you closed." She followed him out the door while she explained what she'd heard.

Jake inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly. "Miss Briggs thinks I'm hot," he mumbled and then grinned broadly as he replayed her wink over and over in his head.

* * *

"_Are you ready to get it off?" Callie Briggs asked with a giggle. Her tight nurse uniform barely covering her rear and the top unable to zip up over her ample breasts. _

"_Oh yeah." Jake purred as she straddled his lap and took hold of the heavy cast. _

"_It's just so big and hard." She blinked at him innocently. "I don't know how I'll manage."_

"_Perhaps you lack the necessary force." _

_Jake looked behind the luscious deputy mayor to find Suri, her lean body clothed only in lacy undergarments. He watched with awe as his exotic friend gently pushed Callie off him and took her place. _

"_This requires a tight grip." Suri purred, tightening her long legs around his hips and moving her body as provocatively as she could manage. "The right amount of pressure and muscle control," she purred into his ear. "It should go easily."  
Jake swallowed the lump in his throat, barely able to get in a solid breath. "What about my arm?"_

_Suri and Callie looked at each other and giggled. "Don't worry." Suri tightly cupped his privates with one of her paws. "We'll take care of you."_

Jake sat up with a gasp and glared at the door just as it slid open.

"Get up already." Chance hissed.

"I'm up." Jake replied, still feeling dazed. "I'm up."  
"Good." Chance shook his head. "You're running late."

Jake watched the door shut and then let out the groan he'd been holding in as he slid out of bed. "At least it wasn't Miranda this time," he mumbled as he quickly shucked the clothes he'd slept in and got dressed for school.

During the ride, more than once, Jake felt like Chance wanted to say something but kept changing his mind. It had everything to do with the way he'd take his eyes off the road for just a second, open his mouth and then snap it shut before looking back in the direction he was driving. Finally, Jake let out a loud sigh. "What do you want, already?"

"I was just... ah..." Chance paused to clear his throat. He'd told his mother he'd approach the subject. Still, his blond fur did nothing to conceal the flush. "So I, um, I signed the permission slip for you to take sex ed the other day."

Jake's ears drooped back. "Sure it wasn't a waiver?"

Chance snorted. "Yeah." He cleared his throat again. "It's just that, you know my mom's a doctor and all and she... well... she said I should, you know, talk to you about it."

Jake let his head thump back against the seat. "I know where kittens come from, Chance. You don't have to explain it."

"I never took you for the type to believe the whole stork thing." Chance rolled his eyes. "But, you know, you're fourteen and you pretty much lived with a bunch of frat boys so there's probably a lot that you already know."

Jake bit the inside of his cheek hard. He couldn't believe Chance was really trying to talk about this with him. He was right though, between college and the Enforcers, there really wasn't a lot he didn't know. That didn't change his inexperience or embarrassment. "Chance," he whispered, his voice on that edge between adult and kitten. "You can stop now. Because I'm going to hear whatever you're about to say a lot less awkwardly from someone that's paid to say it in science class today. And I'd like to still be able to look at you without feeling like you're judging me later so..."

"Right." Chance winced. "But, I mean, if you ever need to, you know, ask me something..."

"I got it." Jake attempted a smile. "Thanks but... uh... no thanks."

Chance chuckled. "Okay, okay. I won't say anymore. Like I said, Ma put me up to it."

"Uh huh." Jake rolled his eyes. "Subject change," he smirked as they neared the school. "Got any plans for tonight?"

"Depends." Chance gave him a suspicious look. "Why?"

"Um.. well... Suri asked if I'd come to her recital." Jake tried to look hopeful and nonchalant all at once.

"Her recital?" Chance's eyes widened somewhat. "That's tonight?"  
"Yeah." Jake bit his bottom lip.

"And she asked _you_ to go see it?"

Jake nodded.

"What time?"

The teen shrugged. "Seven."

"As long as I don't have to get all dressed up." Chance grinned, having enjoyed sweating Jake a little about it.

"I'll find out." Jake looked suddenly worried.

"You do that." Chance pulled up to the school. "See you at 3:30."

* * *

_**Sorry this one was a little later in coming up than the others. Work. Feh. I'm about to get in a jog and then I should be bringing you another chapter today. Cross your fingers.**_

_**Nyte Kat  
**_


	14. Birth of a Bird

_**You know I've been building up for this one. Enjoy.**_

_**Nyte Kat.**_

* * *

Jake closed and unclosed his fist, relishing the feeling of being able to move unhindered.

"Alright." Chance held out the bomber jacket. "I say we grab some lunch before you go to school."

"You know." Jake pouted. "I could just miss the rest of the day and it wouldn't be a big deal. I've got a doctor's note. And my last two classes aren't that important."

"What kind of guardian would I be if I did that?" Chance looked mildly surprised.

"A cool one." Jake looked hopeful.

"Damn." Chance sighed. "I guess you missed out on getting the cool guardian. What do you want to eat?"

"Tacos." Jake replied almost instantly.

"Spicy tacos?" Chance added, a slight grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh yeah." Jake agreed. "With Habanero sauce."

"I think I can swing that." Chance followed Jake out into the parking lot.

* * *

"I was wondering where you were today." Jason said at the end of Freshmen Composition.

"Yeah." Jake flexed his fingers. "It's definitely good to have both paws again. Did I miss anything?"

"Nah." Jason pushed his glasses up his nose. "Just another boring day in the neighborhood. Oh, well, Suri was disappointed she wasn't able to give you your one pawed piano lesson."

Jake's eyes lit up. "She missed me?"

"Nah. I think she just likes showing off." Jason shrugged. "Miranda was looking for you too."

Jake sighed. "Oh."

"She's crazy." Jason chuckled. "But at least you've got a girl nuts over you."

"Key word there is 'nuts'." Jake shook his head. "What happened to her friends at the beginning of the year? Those snobby little girls?"

"I heard that they don't really like her but that all their moms are friends so they felt like they had to be nice." Jason said in a hushed voice.

Jake made a face, feeling a surge of guilt. "I guess I'll just keep being nice. Hopefully she won't turn into a stalker."

"She'd probably be good at it." Jason looked thoughtful.

"Now that you mention it, I can kind of see her hiding in my closet with a camera." Jake shuddered.

"Yeah." Jason mimicked the terrified action. "So what are you doing for Halloween?"  
"I've got plans with Chance." Jake's eyes drifted to the side.

"That sucks." Jason sighed. "I heard there was this party down the street from my house. I wanted to see if you'd spend the night and maybe we could go."  
Jake gave him a suspicious look. "Maybe another time."

Jason's shoulders sagged with disappointment. "Yeah." He shouldered open one of the heavy doors. "How does Chance get here so early?"  
Jake looked up, glad to see his friend driving his car rather than the smelly tow truck. "He doesn't like to wait in traffic."

"Clearly. I'll see you tomorrow." Jason looked around for a place to sit and wait for his mom.

**

* * *

Halloween Night**

Chance ghosted a paw over the reflective black and red paint, a wide smile spread across his blond and black striped face. "I can't believe we really built this out of junk."

"Isn't there a cliché about that? One kat's junk is another kat's treasure?" Jake leaped out of the cockpit. "Everything checks out."

"Time for a test flight." Chance fist pumped. "Let's suit up."

"Wait." Jake caught Chance's arm. "We can't risk Enforcers cutting into our frequency and figuring out who we are. I mean, we've got the masks and everything but I can't just say your name."

"You have a point." Chance scratched his chin. "Razor."  
"Razor?" Jake scrunched up his nose.

"Yeah. When they were telling me about you when you were being assigned to me as a gunner, they said you could hit the edge of a razor from 100 meters." Chance nodded. "So Razor kind of fits."

Jake made a face. "I guess so. What about you?"

"I don't know." Chance scratched the back of his head. "T-Bone?"

"_T-Bone_?" Jake echoed in disbelief.

"I'm kind of hungry." Chance grinned. "I'm sure I'll think of something better."

"I hope so." Jake chuckled.

The pair made quick work of changing into their flight suits and climbing into the jet. "Alright," T-Bone let out a nervous breath. "Initiating take off sequences."

Razor's eyes watched his digital screens and fought the urge to grin when he felt the thrum of the engines through his body. He double checked his harness and his breather. "Everything looks good here." A sudden thought occurred to him. "What happens if we crash and burn?"

"My mom's going to be pissed." T-Bone said darkly, not wanting to accept that possibility. "Don't worry. I've seen your work. I trust it."  
"I got a C in science." Razor reminded him.

"There is that." T-Bone chuckled. "Ready?"

"Ready." Razor breathed and prepared himself for the force of takeoff, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the turbulence.

T-Bone was greatly impressed by the takeoff. It was relatively smooth considering the launch area. "AHAHA!" He shouted once they were leveled out high above the clouds. "Razor you are brilliant!"

Tentatively, Razor opened his eyes, letting out the breath he'd been holding and looked up through the canopy. "Naturally."

"Don't get cocky on me now." T-Bone was still grinning. "Five seconds ago you were pissing your pants thinking we were gonna eat shit."

"I wasn't _that_ worried." Razor replied. "So, I figure the best place to put the Turbokat through the paces is the canyon."

"The Turbokat?" T-Bone turned his head back although he couldn't really see his gunner.

"You came up with 'the Swat Kats'." Razor replied. "And, as long as we don't come apart at Mach Nine, this bird should be able to outperform everything the Enforcers have." There was still a nervous hitch to his voice.

"Relax, Razor." T-Bone grinned. "And enjoy the ride."

"Right." Razor rolled his eyes. "I'll just test my targeting systems on cacti." He let out a gasp as T-Bone began to accelerate through the air. "A little warning would be nice," he hissed.

"I already told you." T-Bone grinned. "I wanna see what she can do."

"Right." Razor felt his stomach drop as the jet dipped and twisted into a barrel roll. "Fuck," he whispered.

"Watch your mouth, kitten." T-Bone teased. "Damn this baby flies like a bird."

"Targeting could use a little tweaking but I really need some drones to test fire." Razor forced his focus onto his own instruments.

"Getting close to your breaking point, kiddo." T-Bone warned. "Don't tweak anything that might shut us down if you black out."

"Roger that." Razor replied removing his paws from the panel. "You know, you don't have to break any records tonight. This is just a test flight."

"What better to test than the limits?" T-Bone asked with a sly grin.

"Well unless Dark Kat jumps out of the clouds at us, the canyon's all we..." Razor stopped when his radar lit up. "We got company."  
"What?" T-Bone hissed.

"We got two bogies. One on our six and the other right on their tail." Razor adjusted the frequency of his radio until he picked up the Enforcers. There was only mindless chatter about protocols and Halloween vandals. "If it's one of them, then they haven't said anything or tried to make contact."

"I'm going to take us up and turn us around." T-Bone warned.

Razor braced himself for the maneuver, keeping his eyes on the radar. "Moving back into Enforcer air space," he cautioned. As they backtracked, the signal vanished. "Er..."

"Er?" T-Bone copied.

"Yeah, we were nearly on top of the aircraft I was picking up and then I lost them." Razor made a few adjustments.

"Glitch?" T-Bone asked.

"Could be." He mumbled to himself while he tried to work out the problem. "Double back. If it's a logistical glitch, they should show up in the same place."

T-Bone did and sure enough their 'bogies' returned.

"Huh." Razor sounded perplexed. "Maybe some of the programming in the test run before I installed it is still running in the background. I can't do anything with that up here."

"Well so far the only problems are ghost-bogies and an untweaked targeting system." T-Bone tallied off. "I'd call that a win. Wouldn't you?"

"Uh... well... sure." Razor agreed although he was disappointed he hadn't nailed it all in the first go-around.

"Alright!" T-Bone cheered. "Let's head home before we burn too much fuel. It's not too late to get in a good campy zombie movie before bed."

"Sounds good to me." Razor replied.

-krsh-

"Are we still listening to the Enforcer frequency?" T-Bone asked.

"Yeah." Razor replied. "You heard that too?"  
"Yep." T-Bone answered just as lightening lit up the sky and the cockpit. The cabin shook with turbulence as the clouds rumbled with thunder.

"Crud," Razor hissed.

-krsh-

"... some crazy storm... chopper down..."

"That doesn't sound good, buddy." T-Bone's ears twitched, straining to make out the broadcast.

"Nothing like a big storm on Halloween.." Razor worked with the radio to try and get better reception.

"No kidding." T-Bone replied as the disruption in the atmosphere shook them once more. "Damn it."

"I second that." Razor frowned and looked up as lightening flashed again. "T-Bone!"

"What?"

Razor squinted in the dark. "I thought I saw another one of those crazy portals!"

"Aw you gotta be kidding me!" T-Bone worked to keep the Turbokat steady.

-krsh-

"... Commander Feral... back up... all available units..."

"I can't make it out." Razor frowned. "But I think they've got a better view than we do so we should back..." He sucked in a breath when they were pulled forcefully.

"Shit, Razor, this thing's pullin' us in!" T-Bone growled out as he pulled on the throttle to try and get control.

"Yeah." Razor said through gritted teeth. "I can tell."

"Hang on tight. I'm hitting the afterburners to get out of the pull." T-Bone said, flipping a switch. As soon as the extra engines came on, the portal vanished and they were sling shot across the sky.

"Oh god," Razor squeezed his eyes shut. "Wasn't ready for that."

"I'm taking us home." T-Bone said quietly. When he didn't get an answer, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Razor?"

"Yeah?" The slim gunner responded quietly.

"You good?"

"Sorta." Razor cleared his throat. "A little dizzy, and trying to make sense of what just happened."

"Well brace yourself for a rocky ride. It's still storming." T-Bone replied. "Just think about those zombies waiting on us."  
Razor chuckled. "_You_ can think about the brains and guts and blood. _I'm_ going to think about the inevitable naked she-kat that gets bitten first."

"Spoken like a true teenager." T-Bone rolled his eyes. "Hang on to your stomach. I'm taking us in."

* * *

Jake pulled his books out of his locker and turned around to find Miranda approaching him. "Hey. You go trick-or-treating?"

"Please." Miranda rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ I went trick-or-treating." She pulled a huge bag of candy from her backpack. "Did you?"

"Nah." Jake scrunched up his face. "Remember? I was deprived of a kitten-hood. I don't see the appeal."

"Then what'd you do?" She casually opened the bag and scooped out a paw-full of chocolates and taffies.

"Chance and I watched a couple of movies." Jake shrugged.

"Open your bag." Miranda nodded her head at one of the front pockets.

Jake did as he was told and watched with surprise as she filled the small spot with sweets. "Whoa. What'd you do? Rob a candy store?"

"The trick to trick-or-treating is going to the rich neighborhoods." She explained with a grin. Almost instantly it turned into a frown. "How come you keep skipping lunch?"

"I..." Jake blushed. "I've been... um... working on something."

"Like what?" Miranda tilted her head in curiosity.

"It's... it's kind of silly." Jake scratched the back of his head.

"_You_ do anything silly?" Miranda chuckled. "Really. What have you been up to?"

"Well... uh... you know how Suri is in orchestra?"

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "What about it?"

"She caught me watching her rehearse one day and has taken it upon herself to teach me how to play the piano." Jake looked away.

"Dork," Miranda snorted, looking at the floor. "Where's your shadow?"

"Jason?" Jake looked up and then around. "I don't know. That's a good question." He spotted the familiar, round black furred head approaching. "There ya go. Hey, kat. Did you go to that party?"

"What party?" Miranda looked upset. "No one mentioned one to me."

"Yeah." Jason grinned, though he looked extremely tired. "It was great. You missed out, Jake."

"What, exactly, did I miss?" Jake sniffed. "You smell like smoke."

"Yeah." Jason said again. "Like I said, you missed out."

The first bell shrilled loudly.

"I'll see you at lunch." Jason said and then shook his head. "Or not."

"Wonder how his mom didn't notice." Miranda looked concerned. "She seemed kind of over-protective to me."

"That's a good question." Jake mirrored her worry. "He could have at least showered so he wouldn't smell like a bonfire."

Miranda blinked at Jake and then laughed.

"What?" Jake asked, shifting the strap on his backpack as they walked towards English.

"Jason didn't smell anything like a bonfire." She rolled her eyes. "You know, next time he mentions a party, you should probably go."

"I don't think Chance would go for that." Jake shook his head.

"You really suck at this whole being a teen thing." Miranda sighed. "The whole point is to say you're going one place and then go to another."

"Speaking from experience?" Jake looked surprised.

"If I am?" She glared at him.

"I'm just asking." Jake replied. "What goes on at these things?"

Miranda smirked. "Oh, you know, half naked drunk she-kats, loud music, completely unsupervised."

"Half naked she-kats?" Jake blinked. "What age are we talking here?"

"I dunno. And most of them have fake id's anyway." Miranda quickly took her seat. "Last football game of the season is next Friday. There's usually one then."

"I don't know." Jake pulled out his books. "I'm kind of against breaking the law."

"Parties aren't illegal." Miranda shook her head.

Jake started to reply and then stopped. "No. They aren't."

"I'm telling you, you should go next time. Think of it as a social experiment." She whispered when Ms. Klim started to go over the day's lesson.

"Social experiment..." Jake mumbled. "Hmm."

_**

* * *

Uh oh. Sounds like trouble is brewing...**_

_**-reminiscing- I remember the first time I snuck out to do something I wasn't supposed to do. Good times. GOOD TIMES. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	15. Right To Party

_**You asked for it Cody Furlong. =D I aim to please. Enjoy.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_

* * *

"Where's Lucy?" Jake asked, looking around the large open living room.

"My dad gets her on the weekends. She wanted to stay so she could bug us but it's court ordered." Jason explained, leading Jake down the hall. "The varsity team really sucks this year. That's all they ever talked about in middle school was how awesome the football team is."

"Yeah." Jake agreed. "That was a lousy game."

"What kind of pizza do you boys want?" Ofelia Felino shouted from the living room.

"I was just going to make some popcorn and we were going to watch some movies in my room." Jason answered back.

"Well," Ofelia sighed. "Alright. I'm going to call it a night. It has been a long day. Keep it down and don't stay up all night." She gave her son a quick kiss between the ears.

"Mom," Jason whined under his breath.

"Sorry," she smiled. "I remember when you didn't want to go anywhere without me and now you never want me around. You two have fun."

"Goodnight Ms. Felino." Jake said politely.

"Goodnight," she replied and disappeared into her room.

Jason quietly shut his door and turned on his television. "She's usually out cold as soon as she hits the sheets," he explained. "Everyone's just now getting back from the game. Give it an hour and we're in the clear. By that time, everyone will be there."

"Yeah." Jake looked towards the window, still a bit nervous and feeling more than slightly guilty. He hadn't lied to Chance, he just didn't give him all the facts. And Chance was so gungho about Jake doing things other kits his age were doing that he didn't even really question it.

"Relax." Jason grinned. "This is going to be a blast. I go all the time."

"I never pegged you for that kind of kat." Jake gave him a quizzical look.

"Appearances can be deceiving." Jason smirked. "And my mom is really _really_ overbearing so it's kind of hard to really have any sort of personality without her freaking out and thinking I'm the devil."

"Right." Jake sighed and sat down on Jason's large, perfectly made bed. "So now to kill an hour."  
"Yep." Jason tossed him the remote.

* * *

While it was certainly cold enough to wear a heavy jacket and still not quite be warm, Jake had taken his favorite hoody. It was less bulky and less likely to stand out. He loved the bomber jacket Chance had given him, but it caught a lot of attention and he didn't want it to get messed up. "H-holy cr-crud..." He stuttered, shoving his paws into the pouch like pocket in the front.

"S-seriously." Jason shivered, leading the way through the woods behind his house.

"Why couldn't we just walk down the street?" Jake asked through gritted teeth.

"There's a curfew." Jason replied. "We're almost there."

The house had a tall wooden privacy fence around the backyard, but there was a gate door open. As the two young teens entered, they found themselves surrounded by several kats, mostly upperclass-kats from their school, but there were a few familiar faces. The music was on inside the house, as were most of the lights, and you could hear the deep thumping of heavy bass. Jake swung his head around as a she-kat streaked by without a top and whipped cream dripping from her fur. "Hello..." he mumbled.

"Okay," Jason pulled Jake towards the house. "A couple of ground rules. One: if anyone offers you something you don't want, just tell them no. Don't lecture about how bad it is. Two: if you have a drink, don't set it down. If you do, don't pick it back up. Last but not least: don't pass out with your shoes on."

"What?" Jake narrowed his eyes at his friend.  
"Just don't." Jason smirked. "Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah I got it." Jake waved him off, distracted by a pair of she-kats giggling and making out.

"Hey, Jay! Ya made it!" A tall, lanky young tom with long brown hair in a ponytail and chocolate fur jogged up to the two friends. He paused and gave Jake a probing look. "Who's your friend?"

Jake furrowed his brow. It almost seemed like this kit was... jealous.

"This is my friend Jake. Remember, I mentioned him a few times." Jason nervously scratched the back of his head. "Jake, this is Christian. This is his house."

"Christian," Jake held out his paw.

Christian nodded his head, slapping the offered palm with his and then gripping it in a loose shake. "You just get here?"

Jason nodded.

"Sweet. Grab some drinks from the kitchen and meet us upstairs." Christian nodded his head towards the kitchen.

"You heard the kat." Jason grinned. "Follow me."

The kitchen was large but nearly a disaster area. There was a group of kits around the table, laughing loudly, playing some game. A few of them were missing articles of clothing.

"Pick your poison." Jason grinned and pointed at the counter. It was littered with liquor bottles in various degrees of fullness. The kitchen sink was filled with melting ice and cans of beer.

"Got any soda?" Jake asked.

"Aw come on, Jake. Seriously?" Jason looked disappointed. "Don't be such a boy scout."

Jake laughed nervously. "To... er.. take the edge off. You know, rum and cola or something."

"In the fridge." Jason replied, already removing a bottle of soda from the refrigerator. "Grab a cup from over there." He pointed to a cluttered butcher's block.

Once upstairs, Jason opened one of the closed doors, allowing a cloud of smoke to come out. Jake scrunched up his nose and tried to blink the sudden burning out of his eyes as he followed his friend inside. There was a chorus of "hey" from a group of toms he recognized from school, but he couldn't think of any of their names. Jason and his friend Christian introduced them but they never stuck.

"What's up, guys?" Jason dropped onto the floor and pointed to spot, motioning for Jake to sit.

"Nothing, bro." One of the other kits said, taking a long puff on something that looked like a paw-rolled cigarette.

Jake shot Jason a look, wondering what his friend had dragged him into.

"'ay, you want a hit off this, bro?" The kit asked, pointing it at Jake.

Remembering what Jason had told him, Jake simply shook his head.

"A'ight. I know you do, Jay." He chuckled and passed it to him. "Don't hog the blunt this time, yo."

Jason chuckled and took the offered joint. Jake bit down sharply on his tongue; he was both surprised and disappointed at how easily Jason smoked the drug. "Dude," he whispered. "Don't you have asthma?"

Jason laughed and then coughed out a cloud of smoke. "Yeah," his voice was tighter. "It's cool, though." He passed it along.

"Whatcha drinking, kitten?" Christian asked, making one of his friends move so that he would be seated next to Jason.

"Just... ah... some rum and cola." Jake looked down into the cup he'd barely sipped.

"You want a nipple for it?" Christian asked with a smirk.

"What?" Jake wasn't sure he'd heard him right.

"Because you're nursin' it." His laughter was drowned out by the laughter of his friends, including Jason. "Come on, kat up. Drink it down."

Jake gave them a distrustful look before looking at Jason. He sighed softly and tilted the cup upwards. The burn of the alcohol was drowned out by the soda.

"Now give this boy a real drink!" Christian pointed to the table by the bed. One of his friends reached up and grabbed a bottle.

"I dunno..." Jake looked suspiciously at it.

"Where do you find these kats, Jay?" Christian leaned into his friend. "Lighten up, kat. It's just like what you were drinking without the sissy mixer."

"It's cool, Jake. Christian wouldn't fuck with you." Jason reached for the blunt as it was being passed around again.

"If you aren't gonna help smoke out this room, you gotta do something." Christian thrust the bottle into his paws.

Jake sniffed it cautiously. It didn't smell nearly as strong as the stuff Chance had given him for his cough just a few months ago. "What the hell," he muttered and took a large gulp. It burned like fire all the way down and he coughed and sputtered as if he'd been smoking pot like the rest of them. Someone laughed loudly and pounded him on the back.

"That's how ya do it, bro!"

Right away someone got the idea to play a game and another of the kats got out a deck of cards. At some point, Jake found his vision was fuzzy and he was having to lean against the bed to stay upright. He kept setting the bottle down but someone always put it back in his paws. They would laugh and say "don't be such a kitten" or something else meant to spur him on.

"Hey you want one of these strips?"

Jake blinked. Had he dozed off. "Huh?"

The kat that kept calling him 'bro' held out a packet of clear strips. "You want one, bro?"

Jake turned his head to look for Jason. He sluggishly moved back in surprise when he found his friend involved in a deep lip lock with a lot of very heavy petting on the side with Christian. "Wh.. what?"

"Just try one. They're awesome."

Dazed and mouth hanging open, Jake crossed his eyes to try and see what had just touched his mouth when he felt something tingling on his tongue. Almost instantly his mouth started to go numb. "What th' 'ell?"

"Just wash it down." He was told.

"Jason..." Jake pushed himself up. "What're you doing?" He stumbled a little and ended up back on his knees. "Shit."

"Just wash it down like I said."

"Okay. Okay. Just... shut up." Jake hissed and chugged the rest of the liquor.

"What'd you say?"

The deep growl was enough to pull Jason and Christian from their make-out session.

"Jus' fuck you!" Jake spat at the kat. "What're you gonna do? Hit me?"

"I'm gonna do more than hit your sorry ass, I'll..."

"Wait!" Christian shouted. "What was that?"

"Dude, is that sirens?" Jason clumsily staggered to the window. "SHIT! Come on, Jake. We gotta bolt!"

"No!" Jake violently shoved Jason off him. "Don't fucking touch me!"  
Jason froze. "What's the matter with you?"

"Fuck. I bet it's the NIPSTRIPZ, bro."

Jason groaned. "You gave him that shit you made? Come on, Jake." He tried to pull his friend to his feet.

"Fuck you two. I'm out!" Christian darted out the door when he heard the cops shouting outside.

"Peace, bro!" His friends followed him.

* * *

Jake slowly became aware of the hard surface beneath him. Tentatively, he felt it with his paw. It was metallic, but warm, as if it had already absorbed his body heat. Then, as his brain gained the ability to assess what kind of situation he was in, he realized that his head was spinning, even though his eyes were tightly closed and his stomach was doing some sort of acrobatic performance. "Hunh..." he moaned and forced one eye open only enough to determine that it was far too bright to open them both.

"Jake," a timid voice called softly from somewhere nearby.

Jake managed a small whimper in response.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"No," he whined. "Wh... wha's goin' on?" His words slurred together.

"Um... well..." Jason sighed loudly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Jake shifted his arms so that he could press his paws against the sides of his head. He let out a gasp as his muscles protested the movement. "I dunno... yeah... yeah I do... you and... shit... Jason... you and Christian..."

"Oh." Jason sounded more than a little embarrassed. "I... um.. we can talk about that another time. If we're even still allowed to talk to each other after this. Christian's friend Jimmy drugged you and you flipped shit."

"I what...?" Jake's brain couldn't work around the euphemism.

"You totally lost it, dude." Jason moved closer. "You were freaking out about people touching you, talking about getting your ribs broke and fighting crime anyway. Everyone left because of the cops and I tried to get you out of there but I couldn't get near you. You threatened to snap one of the cops' necks and he tased you."

"What're you talking about?" Jake forced his eyes open just enough to make out Jason's shape across the room.

"It wasn't enough to knock you out, but they shoved us both in the back of the cop car and you were just... I dunno, Jake. You were just saying stuff that didn't even make since." Jason sighed. "I called my mom. She's way beyond mad. She said she was calling Chance."

"What?" Jake bolted upright. "Ah!" He dropped his head into his paws and focused his attention on the large wet stains on his jeans. "Did someone throw up on me?"

Jason shook his head. "Yeah. You. And trust me, the cop that brought us in wasn't happy about his backseat."

Jake squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stifle a wet belch that worked its way out of his stomach.

"Are you gonna hurl again?" Jason asked, sounding nervous.

"Um..." Jake swallowed. "Maybe. What... what'd he give me?"

"What'd who give you?" Jason focused on the door to the holding cell.

"You... ugh..." Jake grimaced. "You said Jimmy drugged me?"

"Oh." Jason sighed. "Jimmy's a bit of a kitchen chemist. He likes to tweak popular drugs and make them better. One of his experiments is turning amped up catnip into dissolving strips. It's supposed to be like XTC and make you all happy and hypersensitive to everything but most kats just get paranoid and hallucinate."

There was a loud buzzing and then the door swung open. "Jacob Clawson, your guardian is here. You too, Felino."

Jake swung his eyes from the cop to Jason and slowly pushed himself to his feet. "Sorry," he slurred.

"Why you apologizing to me, kit?" The officer asked.

Jake retched, hoping like hell he missed the cop's feet, and vaguely aware of the warm wetness trickling down his leg into a puddle on the floor by his feet.

* * *

Chance leaned against the painted brick wall and stared at the clock above the door. He counted the seconds as they ticked by, pulling the city closer and closer to four in the morning. "I'm going to kill him," he thought every single time the second hand moved. "I'm going to kill him." He looked at Ofelia, dressed in a pair of old flannel pants and a heavy parka, her hair pulled up and tucked into a nylon head wrap. Her eyes were narrowed into angry slits behind her glasses and she sat with one leg crossed over the other and bouncing restlessly. A loud buzzer erupted from near the door and it opened. The moment the officer escorted the two teens out, Ofelia was out of the seat and making a scene.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She screeched, grabbing a hold of one of her son's ears and pulling him. "I told you a hundred times not to hang out with that boy, that you aren't supposed to go over there! And you pull a stunt like this? And what's worse! You drag your new friend into it! What kind of behavior is that? I swear to you, Jason! You're _this_ close," she held up two fingers less than a centimeter apart. "_this close_ to moving in with your father!"

Jake's eyes widened at the sheer amount of rage emanating for the normally passive she-kat. "It was my idea," he said without thinking.

"It was your idea?" Ofelia paused in her tirade to blink at the young tom. "My dear," instantly her voice was calm again. "While I would expect better decision making abilities from an Enforcer, I don't believe for one second that _you_ put Jason up to this. I know this because _Jason_ has done this before."

Jake snapped his jaw shut and looked away as his friend was forcefully pulled from the building. Chance cleared his throat loudly. Timidly, Jake moved his eyes into the tabby's direction, eying him nervously without looking up.

"Look at me," Chance said in a deadly calm that made his charge noticeably shiver.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jake slowly raised his head, angling it in a clearly submissive manner.

"You know why I'm here?"  
"Sort..." Jake paused to clear his throat. "Sort of."

"_Sort of_?" Chance choked out incredulously.

"I... got the gist of it from..."

"You got the gist of it from Jason." Chance nodded his head. "You know, I had this friend a long time ago, that I used to joke around with saying that he was a real friend because he wouldn't be the one bailing me out of jail. He'd be there with me."

Jake relaxed a hair, feeling like he might have just gotten lucky.

"But when you wake up in jail and that friend that helped get you there has to tell you what you did to be in that situation, it's never good." Chance closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. It was all he could do to keep from shouting at Jake the way Ofelia had shouted at Jason. "His mom apologized to me, for her son dragging you into this."  
"Chance, it..." Jake was about to defend Jason again.

"Don't." Chance warned. "You're about to take the blame for it to keep me from accusing Jason and you don't need to, because I know better. He might have done this before. But you _let_ him drag you along. And I've got a good feeling you knew about this when you said you wanted to stay at his place after the game." He shook his head and chuckled. "I gotta give you credit. You totally conned me into letting you do something you definitely shouldn't do without me realizing it."

"Chance, I..."

"Let's go." Chance cut him off and pointed sharply at the door. "Come on."  
Part of Jake was screaming that he didn't have to take this, that Chance wasn't his father. He couldn't boss him around. On the other side, however, he felt like he was on the verge of getting sick again. His head was pounding and he was sweaty and smelly. If he just silently followed orders, maybe Chance would just let him take a shower and go to bed without another word.

"Now." Chance growled when Jake remained rooted in place.

Jake's tail unconsciously twisted around one of his legs and he slowly walked passed Chance, cringing defensively as he stepped out into the cold early morning air.

* * *

Chance thrust a bottle of water into Jake's paws. "Drink," he barked.

"Chance, I don't think..."

"You don't think you can keep it down?"

Jake shook his head.

Chance smirked. "You're right. You probably won't. But alcohol dehydrates the body. So you need to suck it up and drink it. And the next thing you're going to do is get a bucket and clean out my car before the mess you made stains it."

Jake dragged a paw through his sweaty, tangled hair and nodded. That was fair.

"And after that, you're going to take a shower and you're going to bed." Chance glared at the teen that stood just out of arms reach, staring at the bottle in his paws.

"That's it?" Jake looked up.

"What do you mean?" Chance asked.

"I was kind of expecting you to..."

"You expected me to jump your shit a lot harder than I have so far?" Chance asked calmly.

"Yeah." Jake replied.

"You expected me to be angry that you intentionally misled me to believe you were just staying up late, watching movies you probably shouldn't be watching, talking about stuff that I probably don't want to know you're talking about." Chance nodded his head as he spoke.

Jake nodded his head too.  
"All the while you've gone somewhere without telling anyone where you are, to a place rampant with underage drinking and drugs and sex where you get yourself so fucked up that you're oblivious to letting someone give you something from their own personal drug collection while your nice little friend is smoking weed and not even caring what happens to you." Chance's voice gradually rose in octaves as he spoke. "So now you're more than just fucked up. You're gone. You're incoherent and confused and all these demons you carry around with you are coming out and the fucking cops have to hit you with a taser just to get you under control! And you don't remember _any_ of it! I mean, Jesus, Jake! What do you think I would've done if I was getting a call from the hospital and not Jason's mother? You could have gotten yourself killed! What do you think I would have done? You think I would have just been another kat glad to be rid of you? That... that I would have just shrugged it off? Do you have any idea? Any idea at all..." Chance stopped talking and looked away.

Jake's eyes were wide and his ears were completely flat against his head. He _hadn't _thought about any of that. "You were just thrown into this, Chance. I don't see how it would hurt you if..."

"No. You don't." Chance spoke quietly. "Let me ask you something. When your jackass of a dad paid your way into the Enforcers and they paired you up with me, who was it that saved your tail too many times to count when some of the recruits tried to pull that hazing shit on you?"

Jake looked away. "You, but..."

"How many times did I stop what I was doing to pull you out of the labs with all your designs and your work to drag your tail to the mess hall so you wouldn't end up back in Medical from exhaustion and malnourishment?"

"Chance, that was..."

"How many times did I put my tail on the line because your dad beat you so badly the last time he saw you that you couldn't get out of bed?"

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. "That's not..."

"Nobody told me that I had to do all that." Chance was practically shaking. "I chose to do all of that. I mean you were just this kitten that was getting pushed around and forced to grow up when you should've been playing with your friends. Instead you're designing vertical take off and landing engines for kats that only care about your brains. At first, I was doing the right thing, being the good kat, sticking up for a kit that didn't have anyone else. But do you know how awesome I felt when I was the first and foremost you came to for anything? When I was the one whose orders you took first?" He shook his head. "The other day, I was bragging about you to a customer and I said 'my kit'. '_My_ kit'."

Jake squeezed his eyes shut harder.

"And you know something? I wasn't lying. Brother, guardian, whatever you wanna call me, the law says I'm responsible for you. But that doesn't make you mine. When you got sick, or when you broke your arm, or all the times I've gotten calls from the school, and that little fear I got in the back of my mind that's screaming to me that the worst possible thing just happened and I don't know what to do except whatever it takes to fix it because I _need_ you... that makes you mine." Chance took a deep breath, not entirely liking how he was teetering on the edge of emotions he didn't normally show. "And I've been trying really hard to get that across to you, but you just continue to think you aren't worth it, that I'm just playing along, just doing what I'm required to do." He swallowed back the tight lump in his throat and looked at Jake. "What are you doing? Just biding your time until I give up on ya like everyone else? Because that ain't happening, kiddo."

Jake felt his back hit the wall behind him and he slid down until he was sitting on the floor.

"You want me to snap?" Chance asked quietly. "You want me to scream in your face and tell you what a screw up you are and how you aren't worth living?"

Jake screwed up his face and glared intensely at the floor. He hated how Chance always knew just what to say to hit a nerve. And he hated even more how incapable he was of hiding how badly it hurt. He quickly wiped the wetness off his cheeks.

"If that's what you're waiting on," Chance crouched in front of Jake. "Then you're going to be waiting a long time. Because those are two things that you've heard too many times and they aren't even close to true. What I _am_ going to say, I was going to wait until you slept off whatever else is left in your system and is something I'm probably the only kat to ever tell you."

Jake sniffled loudly and curiously looked up. "What's that?"

Chance gently cupped Jake's chin, tilting his head up just a little more so that he could look deep into the green, bloodshot orbs. "You're grounded."

Jake's brow furrowed and a look of confusion spread across his face. "From what?"

"I dunno yet." Chance puffed out. "So just... go clean up my car so we can go to bed and I can think about what not to let you do, though I'm pretty sure you're gonna have to be in bed by ten no matter what and, just to be spiteful, I'm cutting out any rated R movies."

"That's stupid." Jake looked slightly miffed. "I've never had a bedtime."

"Sucks for you." Chance shrugged. "Now get up."

Jake sucked in a shaky breath and cautiously got back to his feet.

"There's some really good cleaner in the shop supply closet. Use that so it gets the smell out."

Jake nodded and started to go out the door.

"Hey, look at me."

Jake's shoulders sagged and he slowly turned back around.

Chance hesitated for a moment before pulling the young tom into a tight hug. "I love ya, kit. I mean it. But if I get one more call from the cops, I really am beating your tail."

* * *

_**One time, a friend of mine got super wasted at my house after taking a whole bunch of anti-depressants. She passed out on my bathroom floor with her pants around her ankles. I had to get her up, get her dressed and get her to bed on my air mattress, where she threw up and peed on herself. Good times! And wonderful inspiration for this chapter. **_

_**Nyte Kat  
**_


	16. Paying Your Dues

_**I couldn't think of a way to incorporate how Callie ended up getting a communicator, so I skipped ahead to the first Swat Kats episode: The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice. Since I'm more of a dramatic writer than an action, I'm only going to draw from that episode for this chapter. Also, upping the rating. Just to be safe.**_

_**

* * *

**_"What the hell is wrong with you?" Chance snapped, ripping off his helmet as soon as he jumped out of the Turbokat, less than a second after his ultra young gunner. "Anything could have happened. _Anything_. And you were just gonna go down with me?"

Jake clenched his jaw shut tightly while he stripped off his gear and changed back into what he'd been wearing before he and Chance decided to compete against each other on the Gravitron. He knew Chance was pissed the moment he'd realized what had transpired. Ejecting never even occurred to him. Why the hell would it? They were partners.

"Next time something like that happens, you eject. Got it?" Chance growled at the teen

Jake slammed his locker shut and started to walk away.

"Hey!" Chance slammed his fist into the locker. "I asked you a question."

Jake winced at the bang and shot Chance a defiant look.  
"Got it?" The tabby repeated.

Jake inhaled sharply. "No."

"What?" Chance blinked.

"No." Jake repeated bravely.

"I didn't give you an option." Chance hissed.

"Too bad." Jake clenched his paws into tight fists by his sides. "Is this about this weekend? Because if there's anywhere you should be able to trust my judgment, it's in the sky. And if you think I'm going to punch out and watch you _die_, then fuck you because I won't."

"Just..." Chance sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. The kit was fiercely loyal, but he was just so willing to put himself in harms way. It was frightening how comfortable the young tom was with his own mortality. "Go to your room."

"What?" Jake huffed. "Chance, I've spent the last three days pretty much in my room or doing stupid fucking oil changes or whatever else you feel like dumping on me."

"Yeah. Because you're grounded. Remember?" Chance sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Between all the Gs, a trip to prehistoric times with his junior gunner leading them headlong into a live volcano, and a stupid little troll, who _wouldn't_ have a headache?

"That's a bullshit reason." Jake rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

"One: no, it isn't. Two: you're way too smart to resort to swearing so next time I hear it, I'm shoving a bar of soap in your mouth." Chance exhaled slowly.

"Nobody really does that." Jake glared.

"My mom can tell you otherwise." Chance returned the glare and then pointed at the stairs leading back up to the garage. "Room. Go. Now."

"I'm not a kitten." Jake replied with disgust.

"You sure about that?" Chance arched one of his eyebrows.

"Fuck you," Jake mumbled under his breath as he stomped away.

Chance bit back the grin that threatened to spill out when Jake told him off.

* * *

"I can see you." Chance warned, even though he was peering into the cabinet looking for the can of spaghetti sauce.

Jake lowered the paw that had been reaching to pull the bar of soap out of his mouth. "Come on!" He moaned around it.

"Nope." Chance grinned, tossing up the can of sauce and catching it before looking for the can opener. He was just about to start opening the can when the phone rang. "Crud," he sighed.

Jake reached again for the bar of soap and started to get up.

"Sit." Chance pointed. "And don't touch it."  
Jake sighed loudly around the waxy, bitter tasting bar.

"Hello." Chance said loudly, cradling it between his ear while he opened the can. "Jake?" He looked at the teen and grinned. "He can't talk. He's still grounded."

Jake gave him a pleading look.

"It's Suri." Chance mouthed.

Jake's eyes widened.

"If he what?" Chance frowned, looking at Jake again and setting down the can. "Piano lessons?" He mouthed.

Jake squeezed his eyes shut, his look of disgust morphing into one of humiliation.

"Yeah, I'll tell him." Chance grinned widely at Jake as he hung up the phone. "_Piano lessons_?"

Jake was positive the heat radiating from his ears to his cheeks was going to melt the soap he was trying to keep from touching his tongue. Chance pulled it from his jaws, giving the saliva coating a disgusted look before chucking it at the trashcan. Jake scraped his tongue valiantly against his teeth to remove the soapy film.

"You know, I did a lot of things to try and get girls' attention in school, but learning to play the piano is a new one." Chance shook his head and went back to making dinner.

"It was either that or learn a gay string instrument." Jake huffed. "In retrospect, though, it would have been more paws on."

Chance chuckled softly. "Kit, you're something else."

"So what did she say?" Jake rolled his eyes.

"She said she wouldn't be back by lunch so if you wanted to you could meet her after school." Chance opened a couple cans of tuna and put them into a bowl. He was making a Furlong family tradition: Spaghetti with Tuna Meat Balls. "Dentist appointment... which..." He shot Jake a look. "Now that I think about it, probably isn't a bad idea."  
"Yeah, you do eat a lot of junk food. You've probably got teeth waiting for fall out." Jake teased.

"Wasn't talking about me. And speaking of eating. Is that why you're eating a whole bag of chips and all the sandwich stuff when you get home?" Chance glared.

"Uh.." Jake looked guilty. "You might be over-exaggerating."

"No. I'm not. Stop skipping lunch. If you want like, I dunno, thirty extra minutes after school so you can try to impress her, fine. But you need to eat." Chance lectured. "And you could have at least tried to learn the guitar. She-kats dig a rock star."  
"Yeah, but I don't know if she knows how to play." Jake looked sideways. "Hey I was thinking about what you said about punching out if you pass out."

Chance whipped his head around in surprise. Jake didn't usually bring up arguments once they'd passed. "Yeah?"

"Well, what if something happens that requires us to split up? I can make the gunner's seat reverse-eject-able so that it transforms into a motorcycle."

"Dreaming kind of big, aren't ya?" Chance looked unconvinced. "And why you?"

"Because you're a better pilot than I am." Jake said simply.

Chance sighed. He wanted to contest it, but the kit had a point. "Do you even know how to ride a motorcycle?"

"That's kind of irrelevant considering who you're talking to." Jake scoffed.

"No. It isn't. It's one thing to casually teach yourself. It's another thing altogether to launch yourself from a moving aircraft at well over a hundred miles per hour on motorcycle and then just try to wing it." Chance finished making the tuna meatballs and dropped them into a hot pan.

"Aw come on, Chance. This is a genuinely good idea." Jake pouted.

"And I don't expect anything less from you. You're just gonna learn how to ride first." Chance shook his head.

"Awesome." Jake grinned triumphantly. "Because I saw the makings of a completely bad ass..."

Chance glared.

"Er... a completely... awesome... bike in what those two losers dropped off yesterday." Jake looked sheepish.

"I was thinking on a smaller scale." Chance smirked.

* * *

Chance parked his car in a space rather than sitting in the pickup lane. When he saw Jason come out of the school, he walked up to the young tom. Jason saw him approaching and a quick flash of worry lit up his eyes. "H-hey Mr..." He started to stutter.

"You can call me Chance." Chance cut him off. "And I didn't come looking for you to lecture you about getting Jake in trouble. He's smart enough to keep himself out if it. Just, next time, don't try to sucker him into it. Okay?"  
Jason nodded quickly.

"Now where's the orchestra room?"  
Jason bit his lip and looked back at the doors he'd just walked out of. "Right inside the doors. This is the arts wing so all that stuff is on this side of the school."  
"Great." Chance grinned. "Tell your mom I said hi."

Jason nodded and let out a breath. He'd been sure Chance was going to lay into him the way Jake had. Though, Jake's lecturing had more to do with his not feeling like he trusted Jake enough to tell him that he was gay. And that he definitely shouldn't hang around kats like that. Other than that, he'd been surprisingly forgiving.

Chance paused outside the large double doors and listened. "She's pretty good," he thought even though it was something he probably hadn't heard since his own high school days. He never really listened to classical stuff on his free will. Quietly, he pushed open the door to watch the exotic young she-kat show her student how it was done. Instead, he spotted her standing behind Jake while _he_ was the one playing, his gaze intensely focused on the sheet music opened in front of him. One of his claws tapped two keys at once and it made an awful sound.

"You always do that." Suri sighed. "And you were doing so perfectly."

Jake chuckled and turned his head to look at her. The mirth on his face vanished when he saw Chance gaping at him from the doorway. "Uh... h-hey Chance..."

Suri turned to look and beamed proudly. "Wasn't he just _amazing_? I've never known anyone to have the ability to learn so easily."

Chance shook his head. "Actually, yeah. It was damn good. I just... um..." He shook his head again. "Wow."

Jake blushed and ducked his head as he got up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Suri."

Chance watched Jake hurry out of the large room. "You really taught him that?"

"Well, mostly. He told me that he had started receiving lessons when he was younger from his housekeeper, but then she was fired and he never played again." She frowned. "He is a natural though. Are one of his parents a musician?"

Chance shook his head. "I dunno." He shrugged and followed after Jake.

Jake stopped outside the doors and looked around. He'd hoped he would just be able to get in the car and wait but Chance had obviously parked somewhere else.

"Hey Jake." Miranda grabbed him from behind.

Jake's eyes widened and he turned around and grabbed her by the wrists before he could even register it was a friend. "Jeez, Miranda. Don't sneak up on kats like that." He let her go.

"Sorry." She pouted. "So you're going to start having lunch with us again? Did you get tired of Suri?"

Jake quirked an ear at the jealous tone in her voice. "Ah... yeah... and no. I'm just seeing her after school. Why are you still here?"

Miranda suddenly looked guilty. "I... uh... I was late for one of my classes and I had detention."  
Jake let out a dramatic gasp. "No. Not the Mighty Miranda."

She glowered at Jake. "You really can be a jerk sometimes."

"Yeah I know." Jake shoved his paws into his coat pockets and looked back at the doors just in time to see Chance come out. "I'll see ya tomorrow, _Manda_." He gave her a light shove.

"Don't call me that." She hissed.

Chance looked from Miranda to Jake before leading the way to the car. "So which one do you like again?"

"Can it, Furlong." Jake glared. "That's not even funny."

"Yeah it is." Chance grinned, Getting into the driver's side.

Jake climbed in as well, surprised he hadn't been able to spot the bluish car before.

"Ya know," Chance said as he slid his key into the ignition. "You _really_ are pretty good."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Come on, Chance."

"I'm not making fun of you." Chance defended. "You looked completely natural. You sure you aren't a distant relative of some Baroque Era composer?"

Jake blinked in surprise. "Do you even know when the Baroque Era was?"

"Hey, when I was in school, music wasn't an elective. It was required." Chance pointed out.

"When you were in school, they used dot matrix printers." Jake reminded. "And, I dunno, maybe. My mom was a music teacher and she taught our housekeeper. After the accident, our housekeeper felt inclined to pass it on..." He trailed off. "How was your day?"

"Interesting." Chance gave Jake an assessing look. "And I had to pretty much overhaul a delivery truck. It ate up most of the day. You got much homework?"

"Some." Jake shrugged.

"Well I got something for ya to do before it gets dark. And since it gets dark around six now, I figured you could do your homework tonight." Chance reached to adjust the radio.

"Great." Jake sighed. "More menial tasks."

* * *

Chance pulled the car into the yard and parked it in its usual spot beside the building. As he and Jake got out, Jake spotted a familiar green coupe in one of the bays. "Is that Callie's car?"

"Yeah." Chance sighed. "She really needs to get a new car."

"No shit." Jake breathed, letting out a gasp when Chance's paw cuffed him on the back of the head. "Sorry."

"Yeah." Chance shook his head. "Go put your stuff inside."

Jake dumped his bag in the office and then went back out, finding Chance pushing something out of the garage. "Is that a dirt bike?"

"Affirmative." Chance grinned. "You remember when they had that Moto-Cross thing at the arena and one of the competitors hit the wall?"

"Yeah. Didn't he snap his neck or something?" Jake gave the bike a worried look.

"Something like that." Chance grimaced. "This is his. It got dumped here and I fixed it up." He tossed a helmet at Jake. "I made a good practice area with jumps and stuff. You wanna learn? Have at it."

Jake turned the full-face protecting helmet over in his paws and gave Chance a suspicious look. "What about what you wanted me to do?"

"That's it. Go. Have fun. You break your neck and I'll kill ya." Chance waved him off.

"Okay." Jake smiled. "Thanks."  
"Uh huh." Chance fought the uneasy worried knot in his stomach. "You're welcome."

* * *

"Thanks again, Mayor Manx." Callie said as she got out of the limo. She smiled when she saw Chance walking out to greet her. "Hey Chance. Did you get everything fixed?"

"Yes ma'am." Chance returned the smile, giving her a subtle, appreciating once over with his blue eyes. "Have I told you before how much you need a new car?"

"But then I wouldn't have an excuse to come see you." She teased.

"Well in that case, I'm honored to fix whatever falls off, explodes or stops working." Chance grinned.

"Great." Callie chuckled. "Where's Jake?"

"Shh." Chance held a claw up.

Callie listened, hearing the not-so-distant sound of a motorbike. "What's he doing?"

"Hopefully not killing himself." Chance frowned. "Boys." He sighed. "He wants to learn how to ride a motorcycle. So I found him a dirt bike and fixed it up."

Callie laughed loudly. "Gosh. I haven't ridden a dirt bike since I was probably his age."

Chance gave her a surprised look.

"Oh don't look at me like that." She rolled her eyes. "I have four older brothers."

"Well that explains the bravado." Chance went to get her keys, and stumbled over Jake's backpack. He kicked it out of the way and sighed. When he returned, he saw the beautiful deputy mayor eying an unopened candy bar on a workbench in the shop. "I bet she's starving," he thought. "No doubt Jake is." He gripped her keys tightly in his paw. "Say Callie. What are you doing tonight?"

"Beg your pardon?" She looked surprised.

"You wanna have dinner with me and Jake? I wasn't feeling like cooking, and if Jake cooks then, well... we'd have to go out anyway." Chance smiled hopefully.

Callie's eyes lit up. "That sounds wonderful."

"Awesome." Chance grinned and was about to say he'd go hunt Jake down when he heard the humming of the bike over-rev and then come to a complete stop. "That didn't sound good."

Callie curiously followed Chance through the junkyard, her heels making scuffing sounds on the hard packed dirt. "Oh... wow..." She took in the plowed up area Chance had made. "You did this?"

"Yep." Chance replied, looking for Jake. He spotted him brushing himself off. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Jake looked sheepish. "I... I guess I got a little overconfident."

"I'll say." Chance went to pick the bike up and noticed the long tears in the left leg of Jake's pants. "Ouch."

Jake looked down at the scrapes that had already started to bleed through. "Aw crud." He sighed. "That sucks."  
"Yep." Chance shook his head. "I told you to be careful. Go clean that up so we can go get some dinner with Callie."  
Jake's eyes widened and for the first time he noticed the deputy mayor. "We're having dinner with Callie?" He whispered.

"Yep." Chance grinned.

* * *

"You wanna come in?" Chance asked Callie as they reached the shop.

"I'd love to." Callie smiled and followed the two toms up the stairs.

"There's some milk in the fridge if you want some." Chance told her. "This place isn't much but... you know... it works."  
"I think it's lovely." Callie looked around the kitchen that was large enough for a small dining table. It led into a living room about the same size and then there was a short hallway that gave way to two rooms and a bathroom.

"Make yourself at home." Chance gestured around with his paw. "Give me about ten minutes."

* * *

Jake couldn't help the hiss of pain as the warm water sprayed against his gashed up leg. After allowing the initial sting to subside, he made quick work of showering. Just as he was finishing up, a heavy fist rapped against the door.

"It's me." Chance said as he came in.

Jake shut the water off and reached for the towel to wrap around his waist before pushing open the curtain.

"Sit." Chance pointed at the toilet as he pulled a bottle of antiseptic and some bandages from the medicine cabinet.

"It's fine." Jake disputed.

Chance looked down at the watery streams of blood dripping onto the floor. "No it ain't. Sit."  
Jake sat down on the lidded toilet and propped his left foot up on the tub. Chance grabbed another towel to pat the fur dry.

"It's really not that big of a deal." Jake eyed the bottle of peroxide.

"Jake," Chance sighed. "We live in a junk yard. Who knows what else is in the dirt and gravel. Just washing it off and letting it scab over isn't going to do anything. You should know that."  
"Right." Jake jerked his leg back when Chance started to pour the cold liquid solution over it.

"Sit still." Chance grabbed Jake's knee and poured the peroxide on, watching it bubble instantly.

Jake sucked in a breath between his teeth.

Chance gave him a disbelieving look. "You're such a kitten. You know that?"

"No I'm not." Jake sulked, but remained still until Chance was satisfied that the scrapes were clean, dry and neatly bandaged.

"Alright. Now hurry it up. We're gonna be late for my date." Chance smirked.

"If I'm going, doesn't that make it my date too?" Jake looked around for the clothes he'd brought in to the bathroom with him.

"Trust me. Callie wants a mature tom." Chance patted Jake on the shoulder. "You're just not ready for a she-kat like her."

* * *

Callie looked up from the magazine she'd spotted on the table when Chance came back, freshly changed and fur neatly combed. "Well you clean up nice." She smiled approvingly, giving him her own once over, eyes lingering on the perfect fit of his faded jeans.

"Why thank you." Chance beamed handsomely at her. He looked behind him. "Jake should be just about ready to go." Just when he thought he was going to have to tell the teen to hurry it up, he emerged, looking a lot preppier than what Chance was used to in a pair of cargo khakis and a slim fitting t-shirt from a popular and slightly over priced surf-style shop at the mall. He'd spiked his hair and combed out his thick, fluffy rust-colored fur.

"Ready?" Chance asked, handing the teen his jacket.

Jake nodded quickly, giving Callie a shy but flirty smile. She couldn't help but smile back. "She's totally into me," he thought.

* * *

"I think that's just rotten." Callie sighed. She'd asked Chance how he and Jake came to be at the salvage yard while they waited on their food. He'd chosen a sports bar and grill restaurant.

"Yeah well... everything happens for a reason." Chance looked at Jake, finding him captivated by whatever was happening on the television near the bar. "So, how come you aren't the mayor yet? Seems like you do all the work."

Callie shook her head. "How did Mayor Manx put it? 'You don't get to be mayor for ten terms without being cautious'. He might seem like a clueless coward, but he is actually quite the politician."

"Hey, Chance." Jake nudged him. "I'll be right back."

"Where you going?" Chance asked as the teen slid out of the booth.

Jake simply pointed to a place closer to the bar.

"It must be hard for him." Callie said quietly. "Quite a change of pace."  
"That goes without saying." Chance couldn't quite put a claw on it, but he felt like something was wrong. "He should have never been in the situation he was in. The Enforcers is a terrible place for a kitten. You're friends with Ann Gora, right?"

Callie nodded.

"You ought to talk her into doing an undercover piece on hazing in the Enforcers." Chance pointed at her. "Me? I've always been a big guy. No one ever looked at me like 'hey I bet I can push this kit around'. But Jake? You think it would just make since not to pick on a minor at least."

"What kind of hazing are we talking?" Callie practically whispered.

"Well you've got your usual boot camp style pranks like putting bars of soap inside a sock and beating the snot out of someone. But the smaller ones, the ones that look like they don't really belong in a military program, they got the worst. I saved Jake's tail a bunch of times from getting beat. But there's some kats there that didn't have anyone to watch their back. I mean there's stabbings and I heard something about sodomy. And I think I saved Jake from that once too. Poor kit was unconscious in the shower. I'd just walked in and I heard this 'clank' like something being hit with a pipe."

Callie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Did you catch them?"  
"Nope. I mean, I saw the backs of their heads when they ran out. They laid that kit out pretty good though. He ended up missing a week of duty and had to get the back of his head stitched up." Chance watched Jake from across the restaurant. "Hey I'm gonna see what's so amazing that he can't look away."  
"Sure." Callie watched him go before pulling out her cellphone and sending Ann a text. "Unacceptable," she sighed. "_Especially_ to do that to a kitten."

"What's going on?" Chance looked up at the television. It was the all-day news channel.

"There's a hostage situation at my dad's company." Jake replied quietly.

Sure enough, the headline read "Hostages held at Claw-Tech Enterprises: CEO confirmed hostage."

"That's not good." Chance thought about cutting dinner short. Surely the Swat Kats could do something.

Jake shook his head. "Most of the building was evacuated. It looks like it's just the higher ups still being held." As he spoke, the image of the elaborately constructed building erupted in a fireball as it exploded. Moments later, the aftershock reached their area, shaking the building. Jake couldn't help the gasp of shock, feeling his knees go weak. Sure his dad was an abusive jackass. But he was still his dad.

"What on earth was that?" Callie joined the two.

"Jake!" Chance shouted as Jake darted from the restaurant.

"What's going on?" Callie looked at the television. "Oh my..."

"Jake's pops is the CEO they're talking about." He growled. "I gotta go."

"I'm going too." Callie grabbed her keys and dropped a couple of bills on the table, more than enough to cover the food they hadn't received yet.

* * *

Jake ran the four blocks from the restaurant in downtown Megakat City to the highrise building that housed his father's labs and think tanks. It was already a mess of Enforcers and emergency vehicles and personnel. The air was thick with smoke from the crumbled building and the fire raging in it. Unconcerned, Jake squeezed through the crowds of people, his small size allowing him to make it all the way to the barricade unnoticed. Blindly, he slipped passed it.

"You can't go any further, son."

Jake slowly turned his head, finding a firefighter grasping his shoulder. "But my dad..."

"What's your dad's name? He might already be out."

"But the news said..."

"What's his name, kit?"

"Dr. James Clawson." Jake read the look of surprise and sorrow on the firefighter's face and didn't need him to tell him that he wasn't one of those who'd gotten out before the explosion.

"You need to come with me." He said.

"JAKE!" Chance's voice broke through all the other noise. He immediately spotted Jake talking to, none other than, Lt. Commander Felina Feral. "Did he get out?" He panted, followed closely by Callie.

"What's going on, Lt?" She asked.

"I was just telling Jacob here that his father was set up." Felina explained. "Someone has been blackmailing him and Dr. Clawson was working with the Enforcers to try and resolve this before this happened."

"Did they get his father out of the building?" Chance asked again.

Felina gave the young former Enforcer an apologetic look before answering his guardian. "No."

_**

* * *

I have another story I was working on when I was without internet. I'm working the plot into this one. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	17. Breathing Room

_**Cody, we are on the same wave length.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_

* * *

"This is going to be quite a lot to take in." Lt. Com. Feral tried to gauge the brilliant young tom's emotional state. It was made difficult by the way he seemed to blankly stare at a place behind her. She wished she didn't have to be the one to tell him this, but her uncle felt that she had a more sensitive manner than he had. "You see, Dr. Clawson was being blackmailed for quite some time. He was a developer on a project with Pumadyne in the early 90's. In an attempt to create a renewable power resource, an entire city block was leveled by an explosion related to that project. I'm sure you're aware of the story. Memorial Park now occupies that area. Everyone involved in the project was arrested. Except Dr. Clawson. Because he was using an alias due to the nature of his work, no one could track him down. Over the next few years, Dr. Clawson would capitalize on Pumadyne's failure by laying the ground work for Claw-Tech Enterprises. During that time, he forged a close bond with Commander Feral as a scientific liaison to the Enforcers and his wife Miriam had a kitten. You."

Jake shifted his gaze from the mirror behind Felina, on the other side of which he was positive Commander Feral was watching. He hoped Chance was there too. He hated the feeling of isolation. He gave her his best "no shit, Sherlock" look.

"What you don't know." Felina ignored the scathing look. "Is that during that time, while your father was building his name and his worth, another kat was watching very closely, waiting for his opportunity to reveal his knowledge of your father's involvement in the infinite power project. When you were four, Dr. Clawson was named one of Megakat City's most valuable kats. That's about when he started receiving threats on his family in exchange for 20 billion dollars. Right away, he brought the Commander into it, hoping the Enforcers could investigate the source. In doing so, he had to reveal to Commander Feral his involvement. Because of all the good your father did for the Enforcers, he was pardoned." She inhaled a sharp breath. She was a teenager when she'd first heard about the very case she was handling. "Tell me something, Jacob."  
"Jake," he corrected mechanically.

"What do you remember from the day your mother died in that car wreck?"

"How is this relevant?" He stared back at her, the temperature in the room dropping from the iciness in his voice.

Felina didn't let it show how it startled her to see such rage in the eyes of someone so young. "Because that was meant to kill both of you."

Jake felt the breath whoosh from his lungs. "You should've been dead too," he muttered something he'd heard often but only now really understanding it. All this time he thought his father had simply hated him for surviving.

"Your father was devastated by the loss of Miriam, but it seemed that this kat who had promised to end both your lives wasn't aware that he'd failed. Unsure of what to do, Dr. Clawson took advantage of your superior intellect and enrolled you in an alternative private school. You simply had a private teacher, no classmates, correct?"  
Jake nodded silently.

"During that time, your father was working with the Enforcers to find this killer." Felina sighed. "But there was no evidence trail, nothing to go on. So your father resumed his business with you safely hidden away until you reached a point in your education where it was necessary for you to go to a university. So you were set up in a dormitory, so that you would stay on campus. Dr. Clawson and Commander Feral both agreed that it would be easier to monitor your safety if you weren't commuting back and forth. Again, however, you surpassed that level of education, and Dr. Clawson was repeatedly being sent photos of you." Felina opened a thick envelope. "These have been taken over the years." She spread them out so that Jake could see the photos of himself, his face circled in marker in each of them.

Jake bounced his legs on the balls of his feet under the table as he looked at the pictures. Many of them clearly taken from a distance or from a vehicle while he wasn't looking or paying attention. A few were disturbingly close, pictures of him asleep, completely unaware that someone wanting to take his life was less than an arm's length away.

"Finally at a loss, your father struck a deal with the Commander. Dr. Clawson would pay for your safety in the care of the Enforcers in the form of generous donations and Commander Feral would have you trained as an Enforcer and use your budding skills as a scientist to benefit the program. Commander Feral put his best kats through the most rigorous training to decide who would not only benefit from your surprising abilities as a fighter and a gunner, but to see who would be the most loyal to you, who would protect you. Chance Furlong was that choice."

Jake leveled her with another lethal glare. "Chance knew about this?"

"No. No information was given on the reasons for the training. Mr. Furlong was told that the reason you were placed with him is because it was decided he was the most likely to adapt to the peculiarity of the situation. Because _any_ information about Enforcers being leaked to the press or anyone outside of family relations is a crime, your safety _should _have been guaranteed." Felina sighed. "When it _was_ leaked to the press that a kitten was serving in the Enforcers, it was our primary objective to remove you from service, along with the kat that was charged with protecting you, with as little attention as possible. Dr. Clawson felt that if he severed all ties with you, then, once you were no longer under actual Enforcer protection, they still wouldn't be able to track you down."

"No." Jake shook his head. "No. He didn't want me around. He said so himself."

Felina looked down at the table. "Dr. Clawson spoke numerous times to my uncle about how horrible he felt for the way he treated you, but he needed there to be distance."

"No." Jake said again. "_This_ is all just one big elaborate lie created on his part to cover up his own mistake."

"I'm afraid not." Felina involuntarily flinched at the barely controlled fury radiating off the teen. Her gut told her that this young tom was a ticking time bomb. She needed to tread carefully.

* * *

Chance fought the urge to deck the large, scowling Commander next to him. "What kind of fucked up shit is that?" He growled. "You moved this kit around like a piece in a game and you're expecting him to just be okay with it?" He pointed at the glass. "We're leaving." Chance left the observation room and nearly threw the door off the hinges. Feral was right on his heels as he stormed into the conference room.

"Come on, Jake." Chance said sternly.

"We aren't finished." Feral shut the door and blocked it.

"What the hell else is there to say?" Chance growled. "That you had his father blown up to tie up a loose end?"

Jake's eyes widened and he looked to Felina for any confirmation. The way she shook her head only calmed his already over-working heart just a hair.

"You're outta line, Furlong!" Feral snarled. "I tried to tell James that this was a bad idea! That you were too attached to remain objective."

"I thought that was the point?" Chance snarled back in the commander's face. "Isn't that what she just said? That I was chosen because I seemed like I would be the most loyal? You can't fuck with someone's head like this! That bastard kicked the shit out of Jake and now you're saying it was to save him?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Feral shouted back.

"And now he's dead." Chance clenched his fists tightly. "They got what they wanted."

"Not quite." Feral stared down the angry tabby fearlessly. "They didn't care about the lives they were taking or the lives they were threatening. They only wanted the money. And now the only one who has access to that money is in this room."

Jake shook his head. "What access? I never had access to any of his money."

"You're his sole beneficiary. His estate, his business... that's yours when you turn 18. The money is in an overseas account and set up to release an annual amount into your guardian's account until you are legally an adult. Then you will have complete access." Feral explained.

"And until then?" Chance shook his head. "What are we supposed to do? Just bide our time?"

"The kat behind this likely doesn't know the stipulations on the inheritance. Once he finds Jake, it's just a matter of time." Feral explained. "We did our best to ID this kat, to nail him before it came to this."

"The media was all over this hostage situation. Jake learned about it on the television. You're telling me no one got a look at this guy?" Chance growled.

"The kat that took over Claw-Tech today wasn't the one responsible for the threats or for Miriam's death." Feral continued. "We have security footage. We also had bugs in James' office in case something like this ever transpired. We know that the bombing suspect was killed in the explosion as the bomb was strapped to his chest. He said that he was well paid and that his boss wanted the money or James and his board of directors would die. James offered a million dollars for every one of his associates that was released, saying that it would be more efficient to release the funds in that manner. He was denied. He wanted all of the money at once. I have all of this recorded if you'd like to hear it for yourselves."

Chance looked at Jake with concern. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Your job, Furlong, is to protect him." Feral reminded. "So do it."

* * *

Chance pressed his foot down on the accelerator until it was flat against the floor. The engine made an angry sound as it opened up and the highway disappeared behind them as if it was never really there. He was beyond angry. How could they just dump all this on Jake like that? And only to leave him with a 'you can handle this' type message. Jake wasn't going to school the next day. Not after this. And Chance was so furious, he needed room to breathe, scream, punch something. Anything just to get it out. And Jake... he was so silent that, if it wasn't for the very obvious shaking, one might have thought he was sleeping. One wouldn't have been more wrong. Jake couldn't decipher one emotion from the next. So he was just letting them all circulate inside of him. He watched the road come at them through Chance's high beams at dizzying speed with his heart thumping in his throat. "Can we stop?"

Chance was spooked by the sudden voice and he looked at Jake with confusion. "Huh?"

"I don't feel so hot." Jake said quietly.

"Yeah." Chance pulled off the highway and into a gas station parking lot, parking by the pump. He knew Jake was going to be sick the moment he got out of the car. Even beneath his dark fur, it was easy to see he was nearly gray and he had an arm hugging his stomach. Chance followed him in and asked the clerk where the restroom was. He stood outside the stall, listening to the teen retch, trying to figure out who to blame for this situation, for putting this kit in danger. His hatred for Commander Feral inched upwards. Another tom came into the bathroom and Chance couldn't help but wonder if this stranger was a threat. Or what about the clerk with his glasses and shaggy fur? He looked suspicious too. It could be anybody. Finally Jake came out looking far from the handsome young teen he'd been just a few hours ago. He made quick work of washing his face and paws.

"You good?" Chance asked quietly, feeling like 'alright' wasn't something either of them were at the moment.

Jake gave him a shaky nod and allowed Chance to lead the way back into the convenience store. He leaned into it when one of the muscular arms wrapped around his shoulders and squeezed tightly. "We're gonna figure this out," Chance whispered into one of his ears. "Okay?"

Jake gave another nod.

"You want something to drink? We've got a long drive." Chance asked as he pulled out his wallet.

"Where we going?" Jake asked.

Chance looked around, hesitant to speak aloud. "Somewhere we can figure it out without having to worry."

Jake eyed the soda machine and the 99 cent extra large drink special. "How long of a drive?"

"Couple hours." Chance said. "Grab ya a snack too. Whatever you want," he added, remembering they'd run out on dinner.

Jake sat the large cup on the counter but he just couldn't rationalize eating well enough to find a snack. Chance followed suit, having picked out a bottle of water and a family size bag of chips. He had a feeling that Jake would mooch off him later. "And thirty on pump 3," he said as he pulled out his wallet.

* * *

The drive to Pawline Springs was indeed long, and quiet too. Chance reached to adjust the heat and shot a look at Jake, curled up in the bucket style seat, head against the window and eyes tightly shut. Looking back at the road, he stretched the pull the cup from where the teen was steadying it between his thighs and set it in the cup holder, surprised to find that he'd actually drank most of it. As he neared his great-grandmother's old house, the road narrowed from two lanes to just one wide one with no line determining the center. His speed decreased down to a painfully slow pace and he kept his eyes on the road in case some wild animal decided to lunge from the woods.

Jake let out a soft moan of protest when the car went from smooth road to cracked and broken pavement. "You can't possibly know a short cut here."

Chance chuckled. "Nah. Just a really old road not covered by city maintenance. Sorry to wake you."

"Wasn't really asleep." Jake lied, rubbing one of his eyes forcefully.

"Kiddo, you were out like a blown engine." Chance replied with a soft laugh. "Almost there."

"Good," Jake tried to stretch as best he could while still sitting. "I have to pee."

"You ain't the only one." Chance slowed down, watching the left side of the road. "Where are ya?"

The metal numbers on a mailbox almost completely hidden by overgrown vines caught the headlights.

"Bingo," Chance muttered and turned into the narrow drive. It was dirt and far bumpier than the road.

"How long of a driveway does a kat need?" Jake complained as the jolting only served to reinforce just how he should have purchased a smaller soda.

"We're way out in the country." Chance took it slow. "They all have long driveways out here."

Finally a large unlit house came into view.

"Creepy," Jake gave his guardian an uneasy look.

"Well in the dark, yeah." Chance cut the engine and got out.

Jake whined pathetically in the back of his throat upon hearing the sound of a river. "Aw come on," he whimpered, holding himself in a manner that made him look even younger.

Chance blinked at him in the dark, amused. "Just go in the bushes over there." He pointed towards some overgrown shrubs. "Watch out for snakes," he added as he sifted through his keys, trying to remember which one went to the old home.

"Snakes?" Jake squeaked.

Chance chuckled as he walked up the porch, his breath coming out in a puff of white. It was far too cold for snakes. Before Jake could finish, he'd found the right key and the old front door groaned loudly as it swung open. He reached in for the switch to the porch light and flicked it, not getting any reaction. "Damn," he hissed and went back to the car to find a flashlight.

Relieved, Jake zipped up his pants and turned around. "What's wrong?" He asked when he spotted Chance digging in the trunk.

"Light isn't working." Chance said, holding up a flashlight. "Here. There's a fuse box around back. Go check it out," he said while he went over to the spot Jake had just occupied.

* * *

Shining the light on the tall, mostly dead grass as he walked around the house, Jake listened intently for any hissing or rattling. "Damn you, Chance," he whispered. "Freak out over one snake and never live it down," he kept on talking to himself as he looked for the fuse box. In his defense, it had been a large snake, and he was ten. Sure, he'd shrieked like a four year old, and the snake wasn't even poisonous. That wasn't the point. Finally, the light hit a greenish-gray box on the old wood siding. "I'm surprised this place even _has_ electricity." After a little bit of testing, he found a loose fuse and pushed it back in.

"Light's on!" Chance shouted from the front of the house.

"Okay!" Jake shouted back, swinging his head around when he heard a snap in the woods. He shined the flashlight beam, catching a pair of beady eyes in the light. He gasped and stumbled backwards, running back to the front of the house.

* * *

Chance looked around the large old living room. It was freezing in the house. "Crud," he groaned, hearing Jake come in the front door. "I forgot there isn't any heat."

"_No heat_?" Jake asked incredulously and then eyed the enormous fireplace. "You could cook someone in there."

"You really do watch too many horror movies." Chance shook his head. "Mom usually keeps wood stocked on the back porch in case she has to come here for some reason when it's cold. Feel free to check out the rest of the house."

Jake looked around the living room. The fireplace was about all it had going. That and the world's oldest and ugliest couch ever. And that was with the slip cover on. His eyes traveled over the pictures hanging on the walls and the shelves full of knickknacks and books. He heard a noise through the house and shot a look in the direction Chance had gone before getting a closer look at the photos. There were a lot of black and white portraits, even a few painted ones. It wasn't until they started to be in color that he recognized any faces. He felt his chest tighten at a picture of a clearly young Chance being held upside down by a bulky, smiling tom with the exact same blond fur and black stripes. Shaking his head, he left the room. There was a staircase leading upstairs and a door behind it leading to, presumably, the basement. "Chance is right," he mumbled. "I have seen too many movies." He shivered and went into the kitchen. It was massive with more cupboards than he'd ever seen and a large island style counter in the center. A small dinette table was against the wall near a window with one chair on either side. Chance came in through an open door carrying a stack of wood.

"I figure we'll just crash in the living room since it will be warm. There's some pillows and blankets upstairs." He gave Jake an expectant look.

Jake looked from Chance to the open doorway where he'd seen the stairs and then back only to get a 'what are you waiting on' look. Heaving a sigh, he checked the base of the stairs for a light switch. Finding none, slowly ascended the old creaking steps, eyes darting back and forth, just waiting for something to jump out and grab hold of him. Along the way, he felt along the wall until one of his paws connected with a switch. Jake let his breath go when the upstairs hallway flooded with light. "What room?" He shouted down the stairs.

"I don't know!" Chance shouted back.

Jake turned the lights on as he went. There were four rooms upstairs and, oddly, no bathroom. "No indoor plumbing?" He wondered as he entered, by far, the largest room upstairs, finding a massive four poster bed, the top mattress level with his midsection. "Holy crap," he ghosted a paw over the paw-stitched quilt covering it. As he moved down the bed, he found a long wooden chest, extending almost the full width of the bed. "Bingo," he said when he opened it, finding several pillows and blankets. He removed the coverings and set them on the bed, while still looking around the room, eyes settling on a large cream colored jug with roses painted on it, sitting in a matching basin in a wooden stand. The heavy thunk of Chance's shoes on the stairs caught his attention.

"What the hell is taking you so long?" Chance asked.

"I didn't know where to look." Jake huffed. "What's that?" He pointed at the jug and basin.

"A water jug and a basin." Chance replied, matter-of-fact.

"No shit." Jake glared, not caring at this point if his swearing pissed Chance off or not.

Chance heaved a tired sigh. "Back before they had indoor plumbing, the housemaid would bring water to the rooms for whoever was sleeping there to wash up."

"How old is this house?" Jake asked, surprised.

Chance scratched his head. "Uh... two hundred? Three hundred years old? We've got a family cemetery in the woods with dates from the 1700s."

"There's a graveyard in the woods?" Jake blinked.

"Yeah." Chance picked up a couple of the pillows, leaving the rest for Jake. "Hurry up. It's freezing up here."

* * *

Chance sat on the floor, watching the glowing embers in the fireplace, his back against the couch. Every now and then the teen sleeping would shift or breathe differently and he'd turn to see if he was awake. Keeping Jake safe wasn't an issue. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that, if anyone could protect him, he was the right one for the job. No. He was worried about Jake for a very different reason. The kit had a very defiant streak. And this was a time when cooperation was important. Then there was school. How would he prevent an attack from happening there? And then the only place that stress didn't seem to be an issue for Jake was when he was wearing a mask, riding shotgun in a fighter jet.

"Dad," Jake whimpered in his sleep.

Chance slid up onto the couch, pulling Jake's head into his lap. "I'm here," he said soothingly, gently dragging his claws through Jake's messy hair. "And I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

_**Man this is getting heavy. **_

_**Nyte Kat  
**_


	18. Getting It Together

Jake blinked tiredly, his vision slowly clearing. His pillow was slightly elevated and his arm was draped over whatever his pillow was leaning against. Still feeling disoriented, he rolled onto his back as best he could on the couch and found something heavy weighing him down. Pushing himself up tiredly, he found one of Chance's arms wrapped protectively around his midsection.

"You alright?" Chance mumbled sleepily, feeling the thin frame curled up next to him move.

"Yeah." Jake replied, rubbing one of his eyes. "Just... forgot where I was for a minute."

"Hmph." Chance blinked awake and turned his head to look at Jake. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask him how he slept, but, having been the one to wake him several times from fitful tossing and turning, he already knew the answer.

"What?" Jake asked quietly after a long moment of being stared at.

Chance slowly shook his head. "Still just trying to work all this out."

Jake attempted to comb his claws through his hair but it was too matted from the gel he'd used to spike it in his attempt to look good for Callie. He dropped his paw into his lap and sighed. "I don't understand. I mean... why..." He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. "None of it makes sense. And I don't want any of it. I don't want his stupid money or his house. The only thing I ever wanted..." Jake clamped his jaw shut and looked away.

"Hey." Chance said softly, reaching to brush an errant reddish brown lock back into place and grimacing in disgust at how stiff and immobile it was. "You need a shower."

Jake's laugh came out as more of a sob and he sucked in a breath to try and force back the overwhelming emotions.

"Jesus, Jake," Chance pulled the young tom into a tight hug. "It's going to be alright," he purred, shifting when one of Jake's paws pulled his shirt into his tight fist.

"I shouldn't even care," Jake choked out in a raw voice.

"You aren't cold-hearted," Chance told him. "And you have every right to be upset."

"What... what if this kat comes after you?" Jake sniffled loudly, valiantly trying to push the pain back down. "Or Rita? Or my friends? What am I supposed to do?"

"I have an idea." Chance used his thumb to smooth down the fur on one of Jake's cheeks. He bit his cheek to keep from smiling at how it still held that kitten-softness. "Felina said your dad used an alias because of how dangerous his projects were. Right?"

Jake nodded.

"I'm sure Callie knows someone in public records. Maybe if we change your last name, it will put a wrench in any searches anyone does on the Clawson name." Chance suggested.

Jake hiccuped sharply. "That... that could work for a while. Unless I get spotted. In which case, they already know what I look like."

"True." Chance looked thoughtful. "And something like this is going to draw a lot of kats when they get it all sorted out. A funeral of some sort is going to be expected."

Jake shook his head. "I have to be there, Chance."

"As much as I don't want you to, I wouldn't expect any different. But I'm going too." Chance glared.

"I wanna know who did this." Jake whispered.

"That's personal." Chance warned him. "I'm not faulting you for wanting revenge, but an attack like that could put our identities in jeopardy. We should let whoever it is come to us."

Jake looked away and nodded. "You're right."

"Come on." Chance attempted to muss up Jake's hair with his paw as he stood. "Go wash that crap out of your hair so we can go home and face this."

"Where's the bathroom?" Jake asked.

"Through the kitchen, heading out to the back porch." Chance pointed. "Dryer's there too. You can throw your clothes in it that way they'll be warm."

"So you go through the bathroom to get to the porch." Jake made a face. "Nice floor plan."

"Hey. You're lucky. When my mom was a kitten, she said there wasn't even indoor plumbing here." Chance chuckled.

Jake sucked in a breath when he left the living room. The temperature difference was drastic. "Crud, it's cold," he hissed, considering just washing his head in the sink so he wouldn't have to subject himself to a hot shower in a subzero room. He had to forcefully pull on the door to open it and he let out a quiet mew of displeasure as the even colder air filtering in from the outside hit him like a frozen shovel. "How does anyone live like this?" Jake wondered as he closed the door behind him and surveyed the narrow bathroom. "Fuck this." He found a towel on a shelf above the dryer and a bottle of shampoo in the shower. "Washing my hair in the sink."

* * *

"You up for some breakfast?" Chance asked, looking at the clock on the radio. "Or lunch?"

Jake pulled his attention from the passing scenery and shook his head.

"You haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. You _did_ eat lunch yesterday, right?" Chance recalled his lecturing the teen about skipping lunch.

"Yep." Jake replied quietly.

"I know you gotta be hungry." Chance shifted in the seat, his back stiff from sleeping upright on the couch.

"Not really." Jake said without any emotion.

"You wanna head home first or straight to city hall?" Chance asked, hoping that Jake would at least mention it when he managed to get some sort of appetite.

Jake inhaled slowly. "We need to do this before anyone has a chance to track me down."  
"City hall it is, then." Chance reached for his sunglasses in the console as the late morning sun caught his eyes.

* * *

Callie looked at the cell phone resting in her purse under her desk. She'd called Chance and left a message, wondering if things were alright, and so far he hadn't returned her call. "Who am I kidding?" She sighed. "I'm probably the last she-kat on his mind right now." Her desk phone rang loudly, spooking her out of her daydreaming. "Deputy Mayor's office," she chirped.

"Miss Briggs." The kat at the security desk spoke in his grumpy tone. "There's a Jake and Chance... Furlong here to see you."

Callie blinked. "Send them up!" She hung up the phone and pulled out her compact to fix her hair and adjust her glasses. It wasn't long before there was a firm knock on her office doors. "Come on in," she forced her expression to remain neutral. "Did you get my call?"

Chance looked surprised and then apologetic. "We never went home last night."

"Oh." She blushed, feeling like a school girl. "Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly." Chance made sure the door was closed behind him and then walked around the office, closing the blinds.

"What's going on?" Callie watched him move around the room.

"Can we talk here?" Chance whispered.

"Yeah." Callie caught on. "The mayor has sweeps done weekly so that anyone who runs against him can't use anything from our offices against him."  
Chance let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and gently pushed Jake into one of the chairs in front of the desk and then took the other. "I need your help."

"Anything I can do, I will." Callie said without even needing to hear the question. She tilted her head at the teen. "Jake, are you alright?"

"Yeah," he replied quietly, not looking up.

"I'm really sorry about your father." She offered a sympathetic, but genuine smile.

"That's actually why we're here, Callie." Chance cleared his throat.

"I'm all ears." She straightened.

* * *

"All done." Callie sighed. "Everything at his school has been changed and, going forward, everything will reflect his last name as Furlong." She shuffled a stack of papers. "Social Security number, medical records. Jake, you might as well have been born a Furlong."

Jake nodded his head. "Now what?"

"Everything with your father's will can be handled through my office so that it's private." Callie said. "The DA's office is right down the hall."  
"How soon can I get that straightened out?" Jake asked.

"They're still sifting through the rubble." Callie held up the papers. "There has to be proof of death before a final will and testament can go into effect."

Jake looked up sharply. "Proof of death?"  
"Yes. There... uh..." She struggled to find a less morbid way of saying it. "There either needs to be visual evidence of the death or it was to be proven that there's no possible way he could have made it out alive."

"You need a body?" Jake asked.

Callie nodded.

"Oh." Jake breathed. "Well..." He screwed up his face in thought. "Here's the thing, I don't particularly _want_ the estate... and, while the money could help do a lot of things, I don't really want that either."

"Jake," Chance sighed. "Just think about that before you have anything put in writing. By the time you can do anything, you might have a change of heart."

"But I..."  
"Chance has a point." Callie hoped she wasn't overstepping her boundaries. "This is a lot to take in, and your judgment might be a bit... clouded right now."

Jake puffed up his cheeks. "I don't know why he just didn't give this guy the fucking money."

Callie blinked in surprise at the tone and language.

"20 Billion dollars is a lot, Jake. Even for a billionaire." Chance's tail twitched.

Jake ground his teeth together and looked away. If it came down to it, he would give up the money.

Callie and Chance stared at each other in awkward silence for a few moments before she cleared her throat and sat up a bit straighter. "Have you two had lunch today?"

"Actually, no." Chance wished desperately that he could read Jake's mind, just to know what to say.

"If you're up for it, I'd kind of like to make up for dinner last night." Callie gave both toms a hopeful look.

* * *

Jake sat up with a gasp and looked at the time. He had an hour before Chance would be banging on his door, telling him he was about to be late for school. Sucking in deep breaths to try and calm himself, he looked down at his paws and shuddered. He'd dreamed that his paws and arms were covered in blood but had no insight as to why. He tried to shake it off as he slid from his warm bed and went to take a shower. By the time Chance was up, he was dressed and playing around on hist laptop in the living room.

"This is a first." Chance gave him a worried look. "Did you sleep alright?"  
"I slept fine," Jake replied quietly.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Chance felt like he'd gone backwards a few steps with Jake. They were back to the moodiness.

"Nope." Jake said.

"Then eat." Chance walked around the couch and pulled the computer from the teen. "You barely ate anything yesterday or the day before."  
"I'm not hungry." Jake allowed him to pull the device from his paws without fighting.

"Well eat anyway." Chance turned off the laptop and set it on the shelf near the television.

Jake stared at Chance defiantly for a long moment before pushing up off the couch and going into the kitchen.

Chance bit back the urge to reprimand Jake when he simply dropped a slice of bread into the toaster. He hadn't told Jake how much to eat, and Jake would use it as leverage. "Well, I guess you're going to be at school early this morning."

* * *

Miranda was always one of the first students to arrive at school. It had everything to do with being an overachiever. When she saw Jake in his bomber jacket and dark sunglasses stretched out across some chairs in the cafeteria, she was surprised. "Hey." She kicked one of the chairs forcefully.

"What do you want, Miranda?" Jake asked with a hint of a growl without so much as lifting his shades to look at her.

"Where were you yesterday?"

"Busy." Jake said simply.

"Um, okay well finals for the semester are too weeks away. Have you even started on your report?" Miranda had been disappointed when Ms. Klim didn't partner them up again.

"Nope." Jake replied.

"_No_?" She gasped.

Jake lifted his shades just enough for her to see the barely there sparkle in his eyes. "I'm kidding."  
"Oh." Miranda smoothed down the fur on her arms. "You alright? You look different."  
"Yep." He sat up. "Hey I was thinking about piercing my lip."  
"Wh-what?" She choked and forcefully pressed one of her paws to his face. "You don't feel feverish. Are you _sure_ you're alright?"

"Yeah." Jake said again, pulling off his sunglasses and putting them in the front pocket of his backpack.

"Then why the hell would you want to pierce your lip?" She glared suspiciously at her friend.

"This." Jake pulled a magazine from his bag.

Miranda's eyes widened when she saw the title. "You're in trouble if anyone sees you with that."

"Then don't tell anyone." Jake rolled his eyes and opened the adult magazine to an article about a band he'd grown quite fond of. He pointed to the small ring in the corner of the lead singer's mouth. "I bet I could pull that off."

Miranda looked back and forth from the image to Jake. "I guess I can see it."  
"Sweet. So... you think you can do it for me?" Jake looked hopeful.

"What?" She glared at him. "Why are you asking me?"

"Suri said you pierced one of your snobby little girl friends ears at lunch last year." Jake looked pleadingly at Miranda.

"Yeah but... this is different. Do you even have anything to put in the piercing?"

"Actually, yeah." Jake shoved a paw into a pocket and pulled out a small black hoop. "Don't ask where I found it."

"Great." Miranda sighed. "Go find someone with a lighter."

"A lighter?" Jake balked. "I just want a piercing. Not a brand."

"You want hepatitis too?" Miranda glared at her friend, both confused and worried by his strange actions.

"No." Jake blinked.

"Then get me a lighter, stupid." She eyed the ring with disgust.

Miranda made Jake go outside with her into the cold where she could put a hole in him without anyone noticing.

"What are you guys doing?" Jason asked, spooking them.

"Shut up, Jason." Miranda glared. "God I swear. The two of you make me crazy."

"We had nothing to do with that." Jason watched her burning the end of a safety pin. "So, again I ask, _what_ are you doing?"

"Jake, for some bizarre reason, wants me to pierce his face." Miranda made Jake hold the safety pin while she figured out a way to sterilize the ring without burning herself. She gave Jason a hopeful look. "You have a pair tweezers?"

"Yeah." Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys and then a small pair of tweezers.

Miranda eyed the already blackened ends. "Roach clip?"

Jason shrugged.

"Roach clip?" Jake asked. "What's...?"

"The only thing you need to know," Miranda picked up the small black ring with the tweezers. "Is that no roaches were used in this experiment."

Jason let out a loud laugh.

"Alright. Ready?" Miranda asked.

"Yep." Jake closed his eyes. What the hell was he doing?

There was a sharp sting and then a dull pain as the ring was forced through the hole.

"You're gonna want to flush it out with salt water and keep your mouth clean." Miranda looked at it. "You know, you don't look half bad. All you need to do is not wash your hair for a week and put on some eyeliner."

"You know, she has a point." Jason agreed. "It's kind of hot."

"Fag," Miranda teased.

"Am I the only one that _didn't_ get he was gay?" Jake looked between the two.

"No." Miranda smirked. "My gay-dar just works better than yours."  
Jake shook his head. "I'm gonna check this out in the bathroom mirror."

* * *

Jake was the only kat crazy enough to eat outside in thirty degree weather. Of course, he wasn't exactly eating his food. He stood one of his french fries on end, holding it there with a claw and carefully took aim.

"What are you doing?" Suri asked, dropping down next to him just in time to witness the deep fried snack nail the distant trash can with crumbling force.

"Playing with my food." Jake replied.

"I can see that." She leaned forward to look at his face. "Wow. Jason wasn't kidding after all."

"Yeah. I think it's going to piss Chance off but oh well."

"I'm not talking about the lip ring." Suri put a paw on his arm, preventing him from launching more of his food. "Is there something wrong?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Jake looked down at the delicate but firm grip on his forearm.

"You were not at school yesterday, and today you look..." She made a face as she searched for the right word. "Lost."  
Jake looked up after a moment of intense silence. "You wanna go see a movie Friday night?"

Suri blinked in surprise. "I'd have to ask my parents, though, if they say yes, I'm certain they will require a chaperon."

"Chance could take us." Jake shrugged. "But if you don't want to..."

"No. I'd love to." Suri smiled. "I will let you know."

"Awesome." Jake returned the smile, though it seemed strained.

* * *

"What the hell is on your face?" Chance gaped.

"What's wrong with my face?" Jake asked, feigning innocence.

"Please tell me that's fake." Chance physically turned Jake's head and groaned when he saw the slight swelling and crusted dried blood around it. "Jake," he moaned. "What the hell?"

"It's no big deal." Jake jerked his head away.

"You look like one of those... Emo kits." Chance frowned in clear disapproval.

"It'll grow on you." Jake slouched down in the seat.

"No." Chance shook his head. "It won't. Why?"

Jake shrugged. "Just felt like it."  
"That's it? You just felt like putting a hole in your face? Did you do it yourself?" Chance wondered if he should call his mother and bring Jake in for a Tetanus shot.

"Nope. I got Miranda to do it."

"Smooth. Because the girl who likes you can't possibly say 'no'. What'd she do it with?" Chance shot another sideways look at the teen.

"Safety pin." Jake replied nonchalantly.

"And she just happened to have an earring laying around?"

"Nah. I found it on the sidewalk." Jake bit his tongue to keep from grinning, almost ashamed of how much joy it was bringing him to do something so drastic knowing it was going to get him into trouble.

"The sidewalk?" Chance glared.

"Yep."

"Christ." Chance hit the brakes and turned around in the middle of the street. "We're going to pay Ma a visit."

"Relax Chance. She totally sterilized it with a lighter." Jake resumed his indifference.

"Well thank God for that." Chance sighed.

"Hey, um, just for future reference," Jake frowned as he remembered the tweezers she'd used to hold the discarded jewelry with. "What's a roach clip?"

"Who was talking about a roach clip?" Chance glared at Jake, positive the stress had finally taken it's toll.

Jake figured he'd keep digging his hole until Chance took the shovel away. "Well, Jason gave Miranda a pair of tweezers to hold onto the ring so she could burn it and she called it a roach clip. When I asked she said not to worry, that no one harmed any roaches."

Chance inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly. "It's uh... they were talking about weed, Jake. When you smoke it down to where it's too small to hold, kats use stuff like tweezers or alligator clips to hold onto whats left."

Jake looked at Chance with surprise. "And how do _you_ know this?"

"Jake," Chance sighed. "I'm not as dense as I look. I don't have to learn everything paws on."

"Right." Jake felt the seat belt tighten as Chance hit the brakes.

Since it was still during normal business hours, Chance had to actually sign Jake in and wait. Since it was the beginning of December, the waiting room was full of kats of various ages, all sniffling or coughing or some combination of both. Chance had made Jake bring his bag in with him. "Go ahead and start on your homework."

Jake rolled his eyes and unzipped his bag, unwittingly giving Chance a good view of the pornographic magazine in his bag.

"Where'd you get that?" Chance whispered.

"Uh..." Jake looked up. "What?"

Chance glared and pulled the mag out just enough for Jake to see what he was talking about. "Is that mine?"

Jake shrugged. "Maybe. I needed it."

"For what?" Chance asked and then closed his eyes in disgust. Why _else_ would a fourteen year old want a dirty magazine.

"Not _that_." Jake hissed. "_That's_ what the internet is for."

Chance looked upward, sending a silent prayer for patience. "Then what did you need it for?"

"Okay. Originally, I took it for _that_." Jake confessed. "But, believe it or not, I actually read one of the articles. There was an interview with Kannibal Kats. And I took it with me to show Miranda what I wanted her to do to me." Jake frowned when Chance gave him another incredulous look. "The piercing."

"Ah." Chance shook his head. "I think I was better off just knowing it was jerk-off material."

Jake blushed furiously.

"Do your homework." Chance hissed.

"Right."

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" Rita scolded the moment she saw the swollen and irritated piercing. "Do you have any idea the long list of infections you can get from doing that?"

"It's not that big of a deal." Jake jerked his head away when she touched it.

"Does it hurt?" Rita asked gently.

"Kind of." Jake replied.

"Good." Rita forcefully steadied his head and sighed. "Well, it looks like that young she-kat did a pretty good job. I'm still giving you a shot."

"I don't need a shot." Jake complained.

"Your medical records say otherwise. Might as well give it to you now that you've done something stupid to deserve it." Rita walked over to the counter and picked up an alcohol pad and a syringe. "Chance told me about your father."  
Jake looked up in surprise. He'd managed to make it almost all day without hearing about what had just transpired. "Oh."

"Are you alright?" Rita asked, while she separated a patch of fur and cleaned the pale skin beneath.

"Sure." Jake replied, face clouding over.

"Okay." Rita quickly stuck the needle in and pushed in the plunger.

Jake gasped and then glared at her. "A little warning next time."

"Sure. Hold this on it until it stops bleeding. I'm going to have a word with Chance." Rita pushed his paw over the large ball of cotton on top of the injection site.

"Well?" Chance had been waiting outside the room.

"Let him have the piercing." Rita answered.

"What?" Chance balked.

"As long as he takes care of it, it shouldn't get infected. I think he's just trying to keep distracted. He doesn't want to think about this whole mess." Rita explained.

"What am I supposed to do?" Chance frowned. "This isn't something we can just ignore and it will go away. He could be in real danger."  
"I agree." Rita sighed. "I think he should talk to someone."

"I can't risk anyone we don't know finding out about him." Chance argued.

"Chance," Rita sighed. "I know you're worried. Just..." She sighed. "Keep an eye on him. Promise me if he starts acting more distant than usual or keeps up with the changing appearance, consider making him see someone."

Chance's shoulders sagged. "Alright."  
"Now take him home and ground him or something." Rita patted him on the arm.

"Can I really double ground him?" Chance looked curious.

"I did it all the time." Rita grinned.


	19. Breaking Point

_**Hey Cody, I got your review when I was halfway through this. Again, on the same wave length. =D**_

* * *

Jake made a face as he swished the salt water around in his mouth and then spat it in the sink. Leaning closer to the mirror, he inspected his lip, squeezing the festered hole just until a mixture of blood and yellow puss oozed out.

"Stop messing with it." Chance groaned from the bathroom doorway. "It's just going to make it worse."  
Jake shot him an impetuous look and ripped some toilet paper off the roll to wipe the drainage away.

"I hope you're happy." Chance glared. "You're going to look like someone busted your lip open on your first date."

"It's not that bad." Jake replied quietly.

"If you say so." Chance shook his head. "Are you about ready? We have to go get Callie and then pick up Suri."

Jake looked at the infected piercing and sighed. "Yeah."

"I told you to take it out." Chance reminded. "I told you it was going to get caught on something and get ripped out."  
"I know." Jake huffed.

"So... are you gonna add any more holes to your body?" Chance asked. "Because I'd rather you just told me now before letting your friends jab a rusty piece of jewelry through your flesh."

"No, Chance." Jake sighed, grabbing his coat.

"Good." Chance grabbed his own jacket and his keys.

* * *

Jake was reluctant to follow Chance out of the car and up to Callie's apartment, but his guardian seemed pretty adamant about not leaving him alone for too long in an unguarded area. The only exception to that was school. The high school Jake attended was pretty secure as far as schools went.

Chance knocked loudly on the apartment door and smiled brightly when Callie opened it. "You look nice," he complimented although she was dressed just as casual as they were. It was a rare moment to catch a glimpse of the deputy mayor in anything other than business-professional attire.

"As do you." Callie returned the smile before regarding Jake. "You look... oh! What happened to your lip?"  
Jake's jaw dropped slightly. "Uh... nothing. I just..."  
"It's fine." Chance sighed. "An error in judgment and, hopefully, a lesson learned."

Jake rolled his eyes and turned around to walk back towards the elevator.

* * *

Chance leaned against the hood of the car while Jake walked up the path to the porch. The front porch of the Tier household was heavily adorned with wind chimes and sun catchers. Jake eyed them suspiciously as he walked up the steps, stumbling on the last one because he wasn't paying attention. Chance shot a look at Callie through the windshield and shook his head. Jake was safer in a fighter jet than he was on his own two feet sometimes.

Jake hesitated before knocking on the door, then, as he was about to rap his knuckles against it, it swung open. "Uh..." He smiled nervously up at Kojo and scratched the back of his head. "I... I'm here to pick up Suri."  
He looked passed the anxious teen to the waiting car just to confirm that there would be adult supervision. Finally, he turned away from the door to let his daughter out.

"Have fun," he said tensely before watching the pair walk down the path.

Jake started to walk around the car until Chance cleared his throat loudly. He froze and looked up at his guardian. Chance glared at him and nodded his head toward her side. "The door," he mouthed.

"Oh." Jake looked sheepish as he back-stepped to open her door for her.

"Thanks." Suri smiled at him.

Jake chuckled and walked around the car. "What?" He asked Chance when he passed him. "They don't teach manners in the Enforcers."

Chance snorted and got in the car.

* * *

Suri screwed up her face in disgust. "That's what you get for letting Miranda touch you," she whispered. "It looks worse than it did the other day."

Jake tenderly touched the infected area and blushed.

"She probably saved the pin in a jar so she'd have your DNA." Suri teased.

"Right, she'd probably just give it to her brother to..." Jake trailed off with a slight gasp and looked up, meeting Chance's blue eyes in the rear view mirror.

"What?" Suri gave Jake a worried look.

"No-nothing." Jake chuckled nervously.

Suri narrowed her intense eyes at him. "You are so weird sometimes."

Chance couldn't help the snorted laugh as he listened from the driver's seat.

Jake glared at the back of his head. "So... uh..." He shot a sideways look out the window. "Ready for this semester to be over?"

"Yes." Suri drew the word out in one long breath. "My father is competing in a tournament in Catbodia. We will spend most of the two weeks there."  
"Catbodia?" Callie asked with interest. "That's a very dangerous city. What sort of tournament."

"My parents are martial arts instructors. My father has won several national fights and has turned his attention to the international circuits in search of... ah... more intense competition." Suri replied. "Have you been to Catbodia?"  
Chance looked at Callie, anxious himself to hear her answer.

"Actually, I have." Callie looked distant. "It was in college during a summer break."

"What was it like?" Suri asked, wanting to be prepared.

"I went in the summer, mind you." Callie said. "So it was unbearably hot, but the local food is amazing. And, although I'm sure you will see them as they are directly connected to their martial arts, the temples are something I couldn't possibly describe."  
"I read something once," Jake furrowed his brow in thought. "About how the monks in Catbodia practiced martial arts as a dedication to their gods."

"They did. And still do." Callie looked between the seats at Jake. "The carvings and sculptures in the temples can attest to that for sure. Abi Sinian, the curator at the museum could go on for days about it. Will you be visiting the shrines, Suri?"

"From my understanding," Suri shifted in her seat. "It's required of all fighters to pay tribute, so we will accompany my father to the shrines before the tournament begins. But first we have finals and I have another recital to get through." She bit her lip nervously and gave Jake a curious look. "I've been meaning to ask you a favor, by the way."  
"Anything." Jake said without hesitation in his desire to impress Suri.

"I have a solo performance and it would be wonderful to have a piano accompaniment."

"Uh..." Jake's face fell. "When I said 'anything' I meant... um... anything but that..."

"You should do it, Jake." Chance encouraged as he pulled into the theater.

"But I... I'm not that great... and, as far accumulated experience, I've only played for maybe three years." Jake shook his head. "And _never_ for an audience."

"Please, Jake? Normally the choir instructor would do it but she's on maternity leave." Suri pleaded. "You'll do fine."

"I..." Jake squeezed his eyes shut. "Okay."

"Thank you!" Suri shouted with relief, getting out of the car before Jake had a chance to walk around and let her out.

* * *

"So, what'll it be? Candy or popcorn?" Jake asked Suri while they stood in the concessions line as Chance and Callie purchased their tickets.

"Popcorn." Suri answered without much thought. "And a large soda to share... as long as you don't get any puss on the straw."

"Okay." Jake frowned. "Two straws."

"Even better." Suri chuckled.

"So... um..." Jake looked around to make sure Chance and Callie hadn't come in the doors yet. "You look nice." He nodded at her form fitting long sleeved shirt and faded jeans with a studded belt.

"Thanks," she blushed. "Though, I'm afraid, I might have to get rid of the dreads."

"Aw." Jake frowned. "I like them."

"Me too." Suri pouted. "But they are heavy and I've been getting a lot of headaches lately."  
"Then you should probably get rid of them." Jake agreed.

"Yeah." She looked away. "So... um... since, you know, this is technically a date... does this make us...?"  
"Do you want it to?" Jake shoved his paws into the pockets on his jeans and focused on a glob of gum on the floor near a trashcan.

"I mean... we can be... if you were to, you know, ask me." Suri cleared her throat. "Because, you know, you have to ask me before it can be official."  
"Right." Jake looked up when it was their turn to get snacks. "So large popcorn and large soda with two straws?"

"Yep." Suri confirmed.

Chance situated himself between Jake and Callie, an action he almost regretted when, the moment the lights dimmed and the previews started, the two teens started whispering commentary back and forth. "You wanna move to the seats behind them?" Chance whispered to Callie. "That way, if he starts acting up I can throw something at him."

Callie chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

"Zombies beat ninjas any day," Jake whispered. "Unless they're zombie ninjas, then it..." He froze mid-sentence when Chance got up and moved in front of him. "Where you going?"

"Behind you so I can watch the movie without having you talking in my ear," Chance feigned irritation.

"Oh." Jake looked sheepish. "Sorry." His ears stood straight up when Callie took the same path, her tail inadvertently brushing his knee. He let out a breath, thankful for the popcorn bucket being in his lap.

"You okay?" Suri whispered, seeing the sudden shocked expression on her date's face.

Jake swallowed the tight feeling in his throat. "Yeah," he squeaked and then cleared his throat. "Yeah."

"Okay." Suri shook her head. "Anyway, ninjas are way better than zombies. Ninjas are silent and swift. The zombie's head would be impaled before it even knew there was anyone there."

"We'll see," Jake smirked at her as the movie started.

The advantage to moving behind the two teens was that Chance could put the arm rest up between them and drape his arm around his date without feeling like he was setting a bad example.

"So do you remember your first date?" Callie whispered.

Chance chuckled and shook his head. "Not really. Do you?"

Callie looked surprised. "Yes. What about first kiss?"

"No." Chance whispered back. "But I'm pretty sure it wasn't on my first date."

"Point for ninjas," Suri whispered when one of them silently slayed a brain-starved zombie.

"Doesn't count." Jake grinned, flicking a piece of popcorn at her.

"Sounds like somebody doesn't like to lose." Suri flicked it back.

"Hey." Jake pouted and scooped up a small paw-full of popcorn. "Now that you mention it, I don't." He moved like he was going to dump the treat on her. When she flinched, he chuckled and dropped it into his mouth.

Chance lowered his eyes from the large screen to the two teens in the seats in front of him as another giggle and another flurry of popcorn caught his attention. He shot Callie an apologetic look, though she seemed to be slightly amused by the whole thing. Jake had just taken a large gulp of his drink when Chance kicked the back of his seat causing him to choke and sputter loudly, earning a chorus of 'shh' from the other patrons.

Jake turned to glare at Chance before returning his focus on the movie, or at least continue his commentary with Suri.

* * *

"So..." Jake looked back at the headlights shining on him as he walked Suri to her door. "We can do this again, right?"

"I suppose so." Suri smiled bashfully. "I had fun."

"Me too." Jake couldn't help but mimic the action. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her if she'd be his girlfriend when her father opened the door. "I'll... uh... I'll see you at school Monday."

"Goodnight." Suri said as he stumbled on her steps for the second time that day and she went inside.

"Smooth." Chance purred when Jake got back into the car.

"Her steps are crooked." Jake defended.

"Uh huh." Chance kept on. "Alright, m'lady." He smiled at Callie. "Your place or mine."

"Mine." Callie looked to the backseat out of the corner of her eye. "I've got a ceremony to attend tomorrow."

Jake felt the joy from the evening slip through his body and into the worn fabric backseat. "You're going to be there?"

"As are the mayor and most of the city officials." Callie felt a pang of guilt for bringing it up. "And the families of everyone killed in the explosion."

"Right." Jake replied quietly.

* * *

Jake felt extremely out of place and increasingly uncomfortable as he was ushered into the extremely large building where the memorial ceremony for all the kats that died in the Claw-Tech explosion was being held. The pair of dark sunglasses shielding his eyes were snatched off his face and he looked up at Chance with a mixture of gratitude and confusion.

"Jacob...?" And old voice called his name.

Chance gripped Jake's shoulders tightly as he looked around for the source, his eyes lighting on Professor Hackle, his usual lab coat replaced by a well-tailored suit.

Jake eyed the professor curiously.

"I'd recognize Miriam's eyes anywhere." He chuckled softly.

Jake looked between the aging inventor and his guardian. "I... um... you were friends with...?"

"Your mother? Yes. This is quite bittersweet. I have not seen you since her funeral." Professor Hackle approached the teen. "I am so very sorry about your father."  
"Yeah. Me too," Jake managed, unsure of what to say.

"I hope that, by seeing you here, it means that you are no longer in danger." Hackle spoke quietly.

"I wish that were the case, Professor." Chance interjected. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention his presence to anyone."

"You have my word." Hackle met Chance's eyes. "I cannot, however, guarantee that whoever it is that would like to see this young tom's family completely wiped out is not here, somewhere, watching."

Jake winced a little as the protective grip on his arm tightened. "Professor," he gave the scientist a scrutinizing look. "You and my dad were friends?"

"Colleagues." Hackle looked a bit grim. "At one point, I might have considered us to be friends. That was before your mother was taken from him. He was made quite bitter and paranoid from the incident." His eyes darted around suspiciously before holding out his paw, a slip of folded paper tucked covertly into the palm. Jake took his paw in a firm shake. "James had many secrets, and even more worries and fears that were, by all means, justified. I think he knew this was coming. He told me just a few weeks ago that, if anything were to happen, I was to find you."

Jake tucked the slip of paper into his pocket, feeling even more confused than before.

"James once said to me that his enemies were so many that he counted them among his friends." Hackle said cryptically. "You are the prodigal son, and no matter what James did, he knew you were capable of so much greater. It is imperative that you do not let the other side win."

Jake watched him go and sighed.

"What do you suppose he meant?" Chance asked quietly.

"I asked my dad once why he pretended to be nice to kats he obviously didn't like." Jake fidgeted with his tie. "His response was that he liked to keep his enemies close so that he could keep an eye on them. I think," he frowned. "He _knew_ who it was. Or at least, knew that it was someone he kept close by." Jake removed the paper as they walked away, finding a series of numbers. "Looks like a combination."

"Maybe a safe?" Chance asked. "We can check out his place after the service."

* * *

Jake donned his sunglasses again in spite of the fact that the sky was an endless dreary gray. It made him look like a secret agent, but it did a fairly good job of concealing his features. The large black umbrella Chance held over the both of them helped as well. Behind them were whispers of the Clawson boy and his tabby friend. Some suspected Chance to be what he was: a guardian. Others speculated an assistant to Dr. Clawson. Jake had a hard time placing any of their faces. How they knew his father was just as equally shrouded in mystery.

Jake kept his head down and tilted slightly to avoid scrutiny. He stood a mere foot from his mother's elaborately carved marble tombstone. He could easily read the words inscribed and felt a chill run through him as he repeated them in his head.

"_I fled, and cry'd out, **Death**;_

_Hell trembled at the hideous name, and sigh'd_

_From all her caves, and back resounded, **Death**." _-_Milton_

_Miriam Jolene Clawson  
March 17th 1976 – July 8th 2001_

It was the first time he'd seen her grave since her death and Jake felt a surge of anger at the morbid poetry. There was a loud crack of thunder, and he swore he was suspended upside down in the flipped car, staring at the windshield covered in blood.

"Our father, who art in heaven..."

Jake closed his eyes against the image and tried to drown out the words from the priest in the all the rain. They'd fought that night. He remembered the screaming.

"_How could you do this?" She shouted. "This is our family!"_

"_Don't you think I know that?" He shouted back. "I'm doing my best here! And you don't get it!"_

"_Doing your best at what, James? Burying yourself in your work?" Miriam spat. "I'm taking Jake and we're going to a hotel."  
"Miriam!" James shouted, grabbing her arm with bruising force. "I'm forbidding you to leave this house!"_

_Miriam slapped James forcefully and jerked her arm free. "You didn't have this sort of temper when I met you. Jacob!" She turned to find him hiding on the staircase. "We're going."_

"And lead us not into temptation..."

_"Mama," Jake asked timidly from his booster seat. "Why is dad so mad at you?"_

"_Your father made a mistake, sweetie." Miriam sniffled. "And, sometimes, when you make mistakes and then try to cover them up, they come back to bite you in the tail."_

"_What did he do?" Jake looked out the window._

"_It's... it's complicated, sweetie. But if he doesn't fix it, he's going to get us.." Miriam gasped as something popped loudly and the car began to swerve; it was quickly followed by another series of loud bangs. _

"Jake," Chance's commanding tone brought him back to the present. "You alright?"

Jake peered at him for a long moment from behind his dark shades before nodding stiffly.

"Good. Felt like you were gonna pass out for a minute." Chance chuckled.

It wasn't until then that Jake realized Chance's arm was around him, practically holding him up.

"You sure you're alright?"

Jake nodded again. "Let's get out of here."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Chance smiled reassuringly.

* * *

Chance stood patiently by while Jake unlocked the massive home and turned off the alarm. "So any idea where this safe might be?" He asked once inside the house.

"Probably his study. I was never allowed in there so it seems like a good place to start." Jake replied. He'd removed his tie in the car, and with just his suit jacket, untucked shirt and dress slacks, he looked like a young playboy. "Lead the way." Chance closed the door behind him, locking it back. He hadn't been in more than the front parlor before, and that was the night he and Jake got canned from the Enforcers. Now, as he had time to look around, he was amazed by the sheer elegance of the place. In front of him, Jake hesitated for a moment, pausing on the landing for the stairs. "What's wrong?"  
Jake looked lost for a moment and then shook his head. "Nothing." Quickly he darted up the stairs.

The study was hidden behind a pair of French doors, the wood a rich cherry. Inside, two of the walls were solid bookshelves. The third held a massive window with a built in window seat and the other a pair of expensive looking curio cabinets. Jake heaved a sigh and sat down behind a large oak desk parallel to one of the bookshelves. He opened drawers and compartments, looking for any sort of clue he might have been left, while Chance went about inspecting the cabinets and the shelves. In one of the cabinets was a crystal decanter and a pair of tumblers on a tray. He pulled the top off, making an audible pop, and sniffed. "Scotch. Nice."

Jake looked up sharply. "How can you tell the difference by smelling it?"

"My grandfather used to drink scotch all the time." Chance explained. "I remember the way it smelled on his breath whenever he came to visit." He put it back in the cabinet and continued investigating. Reaching up, he felt along the top shelf, and connected with something leathery. Chance pulled down the dusty photo album and blew it clean. "Aw, look! It's your baby pictures."

Jake looked up sharply. "Come on, stop goofing off, Chance." He sighed in frustration, getting up from the desk and trying the bookcase. They all seemed to be real books and the shelves stationary.

Chance looked down at the pictures while Jake searched. "You look a lot like your mom," he said, flipping a page just before the album was jerked from his paws.

"You aren't helping." Jake hissed at him and near-violently tossed it across the room, landing it perfectly on the window seat.

Chance glared at the youth and went over to pick up the book, intending to hang onto it. His foot banged loudly against the panel below the seat and it clicked open. "What the...?" He knelt on the floor to look under the bench. "Found it."  
Jake blinked in surprise. "The window seat? Really?"

"The bookcase does seem kind of obvious." Chance watched Jake key in the combination. There was a pop as the heavy metal door released.

"Okay," Jake sighed as he reached in and pulled out the contents, which included several stacks of cash, file folders, designs and patents. There were two envelopes as well; one plain white one with Jake's name on it and another thick manila envelope that drew a surprised sound from the teen. "Chance Furlong" was written in thick black ink in the center. "Uh... this is for you."

"Seriously?" Chance took the envelope with surprise.

"Uh huh." Jake used a claw to slice open his and unfolded two sheets of paper.

_Jacob,_

_I know you have a lot of questions right now. First and foremost, I'm very sorry for the way I have treated you since your mother's untimely death. It hurt me every time I laid a paw on you but I felt that if those responsible for taking your mother's life and threatening yours saw that I didn't care for you, they would leave you alone..._

Jake stopped reading his to look at Chance. "What's yours say?"

Chance gave Jake a grim look and handed him a stack of photos. "That I'm about to go postal on someone."

Jake flipped through the pictures, surprised to find very recent shots of himself leaving and entering school, going to the fair, even at that party he wasn't supposed to attend. Unlike the ones Felina had showed him, there weren't any of him at home. There were several of the front gate to the salvage yard, but because it was locked when the left or when they closed, it was virtually impossible to get in, especially with the security upgrades they'd implemented when beginning work on the Turbokat.

"What else you got?" Jake asked, his voice tight with shock.

"There's a letter." Chance unfolded it and began reading it out loud. "Dear Mr. Furlong,

Although you were unaware of your candidacy as a potential guardian for my son, I, along with Commander Feral of the Megakat City Enforcers could not have chosen a better kat for the task. I have received regular reports on Jake's progress with the Enforcers and not only am I pleased, I am very proud of him. I am also amazed and grateful by the level of respect he shows for you. My decision to leave my son in your care was only reinforced by how you behaved the evening of your discharge. I apologize for putting into motion an act that would destroy your career as a pilot. Forgive me for selfishly holding my son's best interests over your own. I assure you that you will be handsomely compensated, though I have little doubt that you will view the money as unnecessary. I wholeheartedly wish I could have been a better father to Jake, and I hope that he doesn't spend his life dwelling on my ineptitude. It is imperative that he understands everything I did was to protect him. The cash in the safe belongs to you. It is not accounted for in my will, and I have left Jake a list of items I would like removed from the property without the attorney's knowledge. Please see to it that this is accomplished as quickly and covertly as possible. Please keep my son safe. I have no doubt that he is in danger.

Sincerely,

James Clawson"

Chance looked up at Jake, catching him in the act of wiping his eyes. He sucked in a breath. "That's a lot to have dumped on ya at one time, huh?"

Jake simply nodded and picked the letter back up to finish reading it.  
_I love you, son. I've always been proud of you. You have no idea the anguish I felt every time I told you __those horrible things just to push you further away. I just kept telling myself that I was doing it for your own safety. I hope that someday you find it possible to forgive me for my wrongdoings, and I hope that you find the connection with Mr. Furlong that I was never able to offer you. I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, and I wish I knew what to say to make it right. If your mother were still here, she would tell me what to say. Of course, if your mother were still here, then that would mean none of this ever happened, and you would have been able to live a normal life instead of being in constant hiding. That having been said, there are certain things I require of you. The first being to trust no one but your guardian and his judgment. I wholeheartedly believe that he will do anything to ensure your safety. The second is to make sure you take everything in this safe with you. Not a word to the lawyers about it. You aren't breaking the law. These are gifts and any gifts do not need to be listed in your inheritance. As are the items on the list attached. These are things I want to be sure you get. Again, I beg for your forgiveness. You were never a waste of time, you were never worthless, you were _never_ responsible for your mother's death. _

_Love Always,_

_Dad_

Jake sucked in a tumultuous breath and handed Chance the list before standing up and leaving the room. "Goddamn it," he hissed, closing the bathroom door behind him and dropping onto the marble ledge surrounding the large whirlpool tub. He took breath after breath, trying in vain to keep from bawling like a kitten. Was he really just supposed to forgive his father for all the things he said? Was he really supposed to just hold his head up and move on? He clenched his fists tightly, glaring at his reflection in the mirrored wall across from him.

Chance let out a long sigh as he read the letter attached to the list of items. He closed his eyes for a moment, silently reeling from the outpouring of things that should have been said to the kit before now. When he finally felt like he could hold it together, he flipped it to the next page and was just going over the list when he heard a loud series of bangs followed by a crash from outside the study.

"Jake!" Chance shouted, stuffing the list in his pocket as he darted out into the hall. He saw the light on under the bathroom door and shouldered it open without even checking to see if it was locked. "Shit," he hissed, dropping down beside the teen who was on his knees in a pile of broken glass. "Kiddo," Chance sighed, taking in the balled up bloody paws. "Come on," he coaxed gently, pulling Jake into a sitting position on the tub. "Look at me," he said firmly as he set about removing the shards of glass and determining if Jake was going to need stitches. "Jake," Chance sighed when the young tom failed to look up. "_Look at me._" He used his sternest voice. When Jake still didn't respond, Chance firmly gripped his chin and forced him to look up. "I know you're mad. And you have every right to be. You didn't do anything to deserve this and then for him to have the gall to apologize in a_ letter_ like a coward... if he wasn't dead, I'd kill him. I swear Jake. Something like that... you deserve to actually hear it." He silently stared at Jake for a few moments before speaking again. "You're fiercely loyal, you're talented, you're creative, you're way more than a little bit naïve but you're 14 so that's okay. You aren't even close to conceited, even though your pretend to be. You're a good kit. You're definitely worth my time, and if your father wouldn't have been so afraid, _he_ would have been the lucky one and I would still just be flyin' jets." Chance watched the fire go out in Jake's eyes as if they were actually lit candles and someone had snuffed them. "You're not worthless. Got it?"

Jake tensely nodded.

"Say it." Chance demanded.

"Got it." Jake whispered.

"No," Chance still held his chin. "Tell me you aren't worthless."  
"I'm not worthless." Jake obeyed, closing his eyes so that Chance wouldn't see them filling up.

"Good. Now remember it." Chance released his hold on Jake's face and stood up. "Where's a first aid kit in this place? Or should I just look for the small hospital in the basement?"

Jake allowed himself a weak chuckle before he stood up as well. "Probably one in the kitchen."

* * *

When they left the house, it was in subdued silence and with several more items than what they entered with. Chance kept the photo album and, only after warning Jake that there would be hell to pay if he drank it, the scotch. Aside from the money and the other documents in the safe, they left with a pair of laptop computers that had been hidden away along with a pair of prepaid cell phones and Miriam's jewelry box. The most surprising thing, however, was the car title, issued in Chance's name and stating that the tabby had purchased it for $50, and the key with attached remote. Jake opened one of the garage doors, exposing a black SUV with tinted windows.

Chance sighed loudly and looked from his old blue sedan to the large, expensive vehicle. "Alright," he gave Jake a grim look. "You're gonna drive this."

Jake looked surprised, elated and a bit worried all in one stroke. "Okay."

"Only because the clutch sticks on my car." Chance pointed out. "And that thing looks a helluva lot safer."

Jake looked a bit sheepish. "I don't know how to drive a stick shift anyway."

Chance blinked in surprise. "But you can fly a jet?"

"That's a lot different." Jake narrowed his eyes.

"That's probably an automatic." Chance handed him the keys. "I want you to stay in front of me the whole time. Don't go over the speed limit, and pay attention."

Jake nodded nervously. The extent of his 'driving' included jets and dirt bikes.

Chance slowly set the keys in his paw. "Wear your seat belt."

"Anything else?" Jake asked, getting impatient.

"Run a stop sign or a red light and I'm beating your tail." Chance glared.

"Got it." Jake double clicked the unlock button just to be sure the alarm wasn't going to blare at him when he opened the door. "When did he get this?" He asked out loud as he checked out the smooth light brown leather seats and matching interior. After carefully adjusting the seat and the mirrors, he put on his seat belt and started the car. The engine was almost soundless and the radio was off. Jake started to turn it on but then decided against it. "Need to focus," he told himself and looked out the back window, watching for Chance to back up.

* * *

"Okay," Chance said when he got out of the car. "Less nervous about you modifying a motorcycle and, at some point, getting your license."

Jake handed him the keys back. "Well good. I'm glad. Because I swear I had you nagging in my ear the whole time." He made quick work of getting the things they'd taken from his dad's home and going inside while Chance locked everything up.

"Hey," Jake looked at the piles of stuff on the table. "I know we've got to go through all this stuff and that it's not even eight yet but I'm feeling really wiped out."

Chance looked up, mildly surprised that Jake actually admitted to being tired. "Alright. Go ahead. I'll do what I can without needing your geek-skills. You need me, I'll be in here... or in bed."

"Thanks." Jake said with an awkward look. "Good night."

"'Night, kiddo." Chance smiled reassuringly.

_**

* * *

Whew this was a long one. It doesn't help that my boss is on vacation this week and I'm working her hours. At this point, I'm content with not getting a promotion.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	20. The Cold of Winter

"Whoa," Jake breathed, causing Chance to pause in the middle of adjusting his black tuxedo vest and turn.

"Suri," Chance said, eyes widening at the odd combination of formal and rebellious.

Suri blushed beneath her pale fur. The orchestra dressed their she-kats in black dresses and their toms in tuxedos, but, as she was doing a solo performance, her dress was more formal. It was strapless and form fitting to the waist where it billowed out elegantly. Her long dreads tied back in a thick black ribbon. "Mr. Furlong," she replied. "Jake." She smiled at him. She'd told him to wear a black tuxedo, but he'd outdone himself with the black undershirt as well. "Nervous?"

"You have no idea." Jake squeaked.

"You'll be fine." Suri purred.

"Go stand over there." Chance pointed to the wall near the doors to the auditorium. "I want a picture of you two." He pulled a slim digital camera from his pocket. "Jake, hook your arm through hers or something. You're makin' it look like a mug shot."  
"Heh," Jake awkwardly held her arm. He felt even smaller next to her with her in heels and standing nearly 6 inches taller rather than her usual two or three.

"Perfect." Chance grinned, taking several pictures.

"Okay," Suri let out a breath. "Time to go."

Jake watched her walk away before turning to look at Chance.

"You're gonna do fine." Chance reassured.

"I feel kind of sick." Jake felt his stomach twist.

"Don't think about the audience." Chance coached. "And if you do, me and Callie and Ma are right there in the front row cheering you on."

"Right," Jake breathed and turned to go into the auditorium.

* * *

Unlike Suri, who was on the stage the whole time, Jake waited on the steps leading up to the stage. He wasn't needed until her solo. It amazed him how easily all these students played, how it didn't phase them that a hundred family and friends were watching. Maybe that was it. They all had somebody in the audience. They weren't playing for a crowd of strangers. Feeling a little braver, he was more settled and ready to play when it came time for him to join Suri on the stage. The lights dimmed around the rest of the orchestra so that they were the main focus point on the stage.

"You said his mother was a music teacher?" Rita whispered to her son when Jake started to play. Chance simply nodded. "I bet she'd be proud to here him play like this." She patted him on the knee before looking over to find Callie leaning on his arm. Rita smiled and returned her attention to the performance.

When Jake played out the final key strokes, he shot a sly look towards the audience and then Suri. She bowed elegantly and then, as she stood, swept the paw that had held her bow towards Jake. Swallowing nervously, he stood before the standing ovation and bowed stiffly.

"This concludes our Holiday Performance." The orchestra director said to the crowd. "See you all next year." There was a collective groan at the overused joke before the curtains closed and the students were allowed to leave the stage.

"You were amazing." Jake said to Suri, though he'd been so focused on getting his part right that he hardly heard her.

"Me?" She blushed. "You were the amazing one. They are used to my solo performances at this point. Walk me back to the orchestra room?"

"Sure." Jake ducked his head. "So, when do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Suri answered, holding her viola and bow in one paw, tucking them carefully under her arm at the chin rest.

"It will be weird not seeing you for two weeks." Jake shoved his paws into his pants pockets and looked up at her through his lashes.

Suri gave him a funny look and then chuckled softly. "I forget sometimes that this isn't typical for you, that you aren't used to the way school works. I will send you updates online."

"I can't wait." Jake smiled shyly.

"You really were great." Suri said, pausing in the orchestra room doors.

"Thanks." Jake cleared his throat and looked down at her shoes. "So... uh... I guess I should be... you know..." He looked back up at her.

"Yeah." Suri blinked expectantly at him.

Jake swallowed nervously, pushed up on his toes and pressed his lips to hers. In that very moment, there was a gasp and a bright camera flash. Quickly, they parted. Suri went into the orchestra room, and Jake slowly turned around to find Chance, camera in paw, and Rita and Callie with amused expressions.

"You done here, Casanova?" Chance teased, finding immense delight in the dark shade of red visible through Jake's dark fur.

"Yeah," Jake replied quietly.

"You were wonderful." Callie complimented. "You should do this more often."

Jake scrunched his nose. "I dunno."

"I bet if that young she-kat asked, he'd do it again in a heartbeat." Rita winked, deepening the teen's blush.

"Alright," Chance gave the two she-kats a reprimanding look. "Get off his case." He gripped the back of the teen's neck firmly in one of his paws. "C'mon lover-boy. I've gotta get these ladies home."

* * *

Jake was up early the first day of holiday break, having become used to getting up early for school. Chance was already at work in the garage when he came downstairs in his worn hoody and an old pair of jeans.

"Where you going?" Chance asked, a water pump in his paws.  
"To look for parts for the Cyclotron." Jake responded as he went outside.

"Oh." Chance looked down, and then back up sharply. "Hey wait!" He ran outside after the teen. "I never said that was okay."  
"I'm pretty sure you did." Jake looked innocent.

"No." Chance glared. "I said I was less nervous about it. I never said go right ahead and do it."

"Come on Chance." Jake sighed. "Just let me build it and, by the time it's done, I'll be doing flips on that dirt bike."

Chance stared at Jake for a long moment before sighing as well. "Fine. Build it. But you don't get to ride it until I say so."

"Thanks." Jake grinned. "You won't regret this."  
"I better not." Chance turned to go back into the garage.

Jake shook his head and strolled out into the miles of broken and seemingly useless junk. He was walking around, more or less, running potential designs through his brain when a sudden flash caught his eye. Turning, he looked towards the 15 foot gate that surround the salvage yard. A green truck was parked on the curb. "Caught ya." Jake acted as if he didn't notice and kept walking until he was hidden behind a large mountain of steel. Slowly, he worked his way around the backside of the junk until he had a clear view of truck. "Wonder if they knew I was out here, or just waiting for us to leave or something." Jake screwed up his face in thought before attempting to get closer. "Maybe I can get a plate number or something," he thought. The sun reflected off something in the cab. "Camera lens?" Jake mused moments before his eyes recognized the barrel of a gun. "Crud," he hissed, ducking just as a loud crack sounded. He gasped as he felt something hit his leg with crippling force.

Chance looked up sharply. He knew the sound of a gunshot. Immediately he darted out of the garage in time to hear the sound of screeching tires. "JAKE!" He shouted, his gut twisting with worry as he ran out into the salvage yard. After a minute or so of frantic searching, he saw movement in his peripheral vision and turned to find Jake wriggling out of his hooded sweatshirt to press it against his leg. "Christ! What the hell was that?" He hurried over to the teen, immediately noticing the outpouring of blood. "Fuck," Chance cursed and dropped to the ground to put as much pressure as he could on it. "You got that cell on ya?"

"Y-yeah," Jake drove a shaking paw into his pocket and pulled it out, fumbling it.

"Dial the number." Chance instructed. "Then hand it to me."

Jake quickly complied and thrust the phone at Chance. Chance removed one paw just long enough to tuck the phone between his head and shoulder. Jake let out a gasp as full pressure was returned to his leg. He was shaking too hard to pay attention to Chance's frantic conversation with the dispatcher.

Something about femoral arteries and drive by's. Jake closed his eyes, not entirely aware of the painful whimpering sounds he was making while all too aware of the pounding of his heart.

"Hey stay with me!" Chance shouted, pushing down harder on the teen's leg, drawing out a gasp and a moan.

"... hurts..." Jake mewed.

"I know," Chance wished he could scratch Jake between the ears or something to comfort him. "Ambulance is on its way." He struggled for something to keep the kit focused. "Did you see who did it?"

Jake panted, digging his claws into the dirt. ".. was a truck..."

"What color was it?" Chance pushed him.

"Ahh..." Jake gasped and tried to jerk away. "Green... it was green."

"Good boy." Chance smiled forcefully. "Was it newer or older?"

"New... newer... four doors..." Jake kicked out with his uninjured leg. "... tried to... get closer... see who was... gah..."

"See who was driving?" Chance edged on.

"... taking pictures... didn't see the gun til... til right before..."

Chance looked up when he heard the sound of sirens.

"Chance..." Jake said through clenched teeth. "Kinda dizzy..."

Chance looked down at the blood soaking through the thick black fleece. "I bet. Just hang on for me. Okay?"

"Uh... uh huh..." Jake ground out. "Don't leave me," he added suddenly.

"I'll be right behind the ambulance." Chance promised.

"...kay..." Jake replied tiredly.

* * *

"I don't think they missed." Chance spoke quietly to Lt. Felina Feral in the nearly vacant ICU waiting area. "If they went for a kill shot, all they would've got is one pissed off ex pilot." He growled.

"So you think it was a warning?" Felina asked.

"Maybe a reminder that they're still out there." Chance lifted his cap with one paw and scrubbed through his hair with the other. It was freezing outside, but he was sweating.

"When they get the bullet, I'm taking it with me. Maybe we can trace it." She looked hopeful. "In the meantime, don't let your guard down."

"And don't let him outta my sight." Chance added tensely.

"That too." Felina offered a grim smile.

"Chance Furlong?" They both turned around to find a doctor in scrubs. "We removed the bullet from Jake's lower left leg. It tore through some muscle and ligaments but there's no reason he shouldn't make a full recovery."

Chance exhaled loudly. "That's great news. How is he?"

"He's in recovery, and a little weak from blood loss. I'd say he lost close to two pints. We've got him on an IV and a small dose of morphine for the pain." The doctor replied, smiling a bit at the end. "As long as nothing catastrophic happens, he should be able to leave in a few hours."

"What about the bullet?" Felina asked urgently.

The doctor held up a jar. "Here ya go."

"Great." Felina took it, eying it suspiciously. "Let's hope it isn't stolen."

Chance watched Felina go before following the doctor to where Jake was resting. He seemed a little gray around his ears and nose, and his eyes were clenched shut. "Hey kiddo," he purred as he sat next to the bed.

"Chance..." Jake blinked his eyes open. "Can I go home now?"

Chance chuckled lightly. "Not yet. How ya feel?"

"Kinda dizzy..." Jake stared bleary-eyed at a spot on the wall across from him. "Leg hurts... feels like they dug around inside of me with an ice pick."

Chance snorted. "I don't think that's SOP for removing metal from someone's leg." He patted the teen's paw. "You're gonna be limping for a while though, and you'll probably have an interesting scar."

"Think Suri will like it?" Jake whispered tiredly.

"Sure." Chance smiled. "Chicks dig that sort of thing."

"Hey Chance..." Jake blinked up at his guardian. "Why didn't they just kill me?"

Chance gave Jake a pondering look. "I think they had something else in mind."  
"Like what?" Jake shifted uncomfortably.

"I dunno." Chance sighed loudly.

* * *

It was late when Chance pulled up to the front gate of the salvage yard. He looked over at Jake. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Jake whispered, though the way his face was drawn up and his ears flat, the morphine was long gone.

"You took that like a champ," Chance squeezed his shoulder.

Jake snorted in disbelief.

"Almost home." He reached for the control pad out the window and paused. The panel around it was loose. "Say... what are the chances that they shot you so that we'd leave and they could toss the place?"

Jake's head snapped up. "That's... highly plausible."

"Stay in the car," Chance warned him as the gates closed behind them.

"But what if..."

"I can handle it. And you're safer in here with the doors locked. This whole car's made of bulletproof materials." Chance left the keys in the seat. "Lock it as soon as I get out."

Jake gave the tabby a sulking look.

"Lock it." Chance repeated and shut the door.

Jake huffed loudly and grabbed the keys. He mashed the 'lock' button rather than stretching to hit the console on the door. "I can handle it," he mocked.

* * *

Chance checked the door. It was unlocked, but he wasn't sure if he'd locked it in his rush to follow Jake to the hospital or not. Still, he exercised caution as he slipped into the garage, picking up a tire iron and reaching for the light switch. His ears flattened at the sight of scattered tools and parts. "This is gonna be hell to clean up," he muttered. As soon as he cleared the shop, Chance checked the office. The filing cabinet was moved and open and invoices had been removed. He let out a relieved smile though when he noticed that the shelf on the wall behind the desk wasn't pulled out. Of course, that was because it was attached to the wall. But it meant that it was unlikely they'd realized there was anything behind it. "Good job, Jake." He commended the teen for doing such a good job of making sure no one else could get in. Then he checked the office for bugs. He didn't want anyone listening in or watching if they did go downstairs. Finally, Chance left the office and went upstairs into their humble home. There were less dark corners for anyone to hide in up there, but he still remained guarded. Kitchen cabinets were open and things had been set on the table. Furniture had been moved in the living room, and all the shelves with DVDs and books on them were emptied, the previous contents littering the floor. Even the bathroom appeared to have been gone through. Chance shook his head and then proceeded to check Jake's room. His tail swished angrily and his ears fell backwards as he took in the mess. They'd been extra thorough. The teen's bed was completely disheveled, the mattress halfway on the floor and the sheets ripped off. All of his drawers were either open or pulled out and dumped on the floor. His schoolbag was ripped open and the closet was open was well, most of his clothes thrown out onto the fallen mattress. Chance's feet crunched on something and he looked down. There was glass all over the floor. He found the window to be broken. "Good thing he started keeping his own laptop downstairs with the rest of them," he thought. Finally, Chance checked his own room, finding significantly less devastation.

* * *

Jake shifted uncomfortably in the seat and strained to see out the glass and into the windows. All he was able to see, though, was Chance's silhouette walking by every few moments. He sighed loudly and let his head thunk against the headrest. "This blows!" He shouted to the silent vehicle. Finally, Chance came back out and signaled for him to get out of the car. Jake happily, if not a bit slowly, obliged.

"What's the damage?" Jake asked, fumbling with the crutch he'd been given to help him stay off the leg.

"We've got a lot of cleaning up to do. And your room's more of a disaster area than usual." Chance looked grim as he locked the garage behind him. "I think we need to..." He was cut off as the alarm blared loudly.

Jake strained to figure out the one-sided conversation with the deputy mayor, but it was useless. Chance hurried back. "Stay down in the hangar til I get back."

"What?" Jake looked at his guardian with disbelief. "Chance, I'm _starving_. And this place is a mess."

"Grab something and get down there." Chance warned. "It's the only place they didn't get into. What if they come back thinking, now that they got in once, they can do it again, and pick you off like a sitting duck?"

"I'm hardly a sitting duck." Jake glared.

"I don't have time to argue." Chance growled. "Go grab you a bag of chips or something and don't leave the hangar until I get back."  
Jake gripped the crutch so tightly, his knuckles popped. He watched Chance go with a mutinous look before going upstairs to find some food. He dawdled around a bit, checking out the damage first. "Aw," he pouted as he realized that, aside from the fact that his room was now the same chilly temperature it was outside, his poster of two she-kats kissing hidden on the inside of his closet door was shredded. "It's not enough that you dumped my underwear drawer right in the middle of the floor, but you had to take the two most beautiful she-kats in the world and rip them to pieces?" He spoke to the empty room. Sighing loudly, he left his bedroom, grabbed a bag of chips, the six pack of cola and a piece of fried chicken Rita had dropped off the day before. "Grab a bag of chips," he mocked. "Seriously? I skipped breakfast to get shot and spend all day in the friggin' hospital." Jake stomped downstairs and went into the hangar. 'T-Bone' was already gone. "Might as well figure out a way to amp up security and try to find out what they were looking for."

* * *

T-Bone didn't miss the heated glare he got as soon as he jumped out of the cockpit.

"For the record," Jake shouted across the hangar as T-Bone went to remove his vigilante disguise. "_Nobody_ came or went since you left."

"Good." Chance shouted back. "Let's keep it that way."  
"I'm working on it." Jake gestured to a tangled mess of wires and circuit boards. "Retinal scan or fingerprint reader?"

Chance made a face. "Why not both?"

"Okay." Jake shrugged. "And I know what they're looking for, and I think I might have a lead on who _they_ are."

"Hit me." Chance asked, pulling a chair over with his foot and dropping into it. Jake looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before flicking the metal tab off one of the now empty cans at him. "Thanks. Now tell me what you've got." Chance glared.

"Besides the most unnecessary amount of pain I have ever felt?" Jake complained rhetorically. "Pumadyne."

"Pumadyne?" Chance gave him an unsure look.

"Well, not the company as a whole." Jake rolled his eyes. "More specifically, Dr. Reynold Thomas _Felino_."

"Felino... why does that sound familiar?" Chance furrowed his brow in thought.

"Hmm well... I dunno." Jake gave him a sarcastic look. "It certainly couldn't be my good friend Jason's father."

Chance's jaw dropped. "Aw you're kidding me. So you've got Steele's baby sister _and_ the son of Pumadyne's CEO."

"Affirmative." Jake sighed. "But I've got some leverage on Jason."

"That being?" Chance gave the teen a curious look.

Jake looked thoughtful for a moment. "His parents would flip shit if they found out he was gay."  
Chance almost choked.

"That's besides the point." Jake straightened as best he could with one foot stretched across a crate. "Good ol' dad was working on some pretty impressive artificial intelligence. With all the malfunctions Pumadyne has with their robotics, it's easy to see why they'd want it. Especially if they had a paw in designing it."

"So your dad was using their designs?" Chance tried to look surprised.

"Not entirely." Jake frowned. "He was _fixing_ their designs. According to everything I've seen so far, Felino found them to be flawed so he scrapped 'em. When my dad recovered them and worked the bugs out, Felino wanted back on board, citing that they were his. Apparently it went to court. My dad won the rights to use them as they were never patented. Felino decided that, if he couldn't get his cut legally, he was going to get it illegally." He pushed one of the laptops over to Chance. "Note the dates on the patents."

"1998 through 2000." Chance sighed. "Right when all the problems started."

"Yep." Jake sighed. "Felino works like a mob boss. You have something he wants and you don't give it to him, he cuts off your fingers until you don't have paws to hold onto it anymore."

"But he doesn't have any leverage with you so he's gonna try to just scare you into giving up the goods." Chance shook his head.

"Yep." Jake nodded his head. "Now the question is, if he knew who it was, why didn't he just turn him in?"

"Maybe there's a plot twist we're missing here." Chance asked.

"Maybe." Jake yawned.  
"Ready for bed?" Chance smirked.

"It's holiday break." Jake looked defiant. "You're still gonna make me be in bed by ten?"  
Chance didn't reply. He simply stood up and headed for the steps. "Bring that trash up on your way."

"Seriously?" Jake huffed.

* * *

A couple of strong pain pills and Jake was out cold and in the tabby's large comfortable bed. Chance draped an extra blanket over him before getting to work cleaning the place up. He'd just dug out the broom when the house phone rang. "Hello?" He said quietly, picking it up on the first ring. "Hey Callie." A grin lit up his face. Then he frowned. "You apartment building got smashed?" He looked around the mess of his own place. "If you don't mind helping clean up. Someone broke in today and everything's a mess." It was a short phone call, and Chance double timed his clean up efforts the moment it was over.

* * *

Jake's head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his mouth was so dry it hurt. He painfully and clumsily slid out of bed, stumbling towards the door without his crutch. "Shit..." he hissed as his coordination was inhibited. He used the wall to steady his short walk to the bathroom where he stared at the sink in a fog, wondering how he was supposed to drink the water when there wasn't a cup. Jake considered drinking from the faucet before he decided to just hobble his way to the kitchen. It wasn't until he was limping back through that he noticed Chance on the couch... naked... with Callie's legs wrapped around him. The glass slipped from his grasp, crashing to the floor, shattering loudly and drawing out a startled gasp from the couple. He forcefully looked away from Callie's perky, bouncing breasts.

"Jake, what the hell are you doing up?" Chance growled, covering himself with his discarded shirt.

"I was... uh..." Jake squeezed his eyes shut even harder. "I was thirsty and.. I swear Chance I didn't even hear you guys." He recognized the shuffling sound of getting dressed and cautiously peeked one eye open, relieved to find Chance no longer naked and somewhat disappointed that he didn't get to see more of Callie. He shook himself when he realized he was staring at her. "I'm just gonna... I'm going back to bed."  
Jake carefully moved around the broken glass, using the wall as he went. Behind him, he could hear Callie saying that maybe she should leave and then Chance asking where she was going to go and telling her not to worry about it, to stay there for the night. Jake shook his head and limped back into Chance's room, pausing to note how his room was mostly cleaned up and there was plastic over the broken window. He eased himself up onto the bed and slid beneath the covers, then he willed the thought of Callie's naked body out of his head, thinking of anything that might disgust him more than turn him on. After all, he was sleeping in someone else's bed. Dutifully, Chance knocked on the door before Jake was able to drift off.

"Y-yeah..." Jake curled onto his side as best he could, reaching to move the pillow he'd had under his leg.

Chance looked sheepish as he set a glass of water next to Jake. "Sorry about that."  
Jake screwed up his face as he thought of a response. "What's she doing here this late?"

"Her apartment building got pretty banged up in what went down earlier." Chance sighed. "She was told she couldn't stay there until they checked to make sure it was still structurally sound."

"Oh." Jake cut his eyes towards the window. "So... um..."

"Her place should be okay tomorrow evening." Chance added.

"Right." Jake cringed a bit when Chance patted him on the arm.

"Really am sorry about that."

"It's... it's okay." Jake's voice cracked. "Just... uh... you know... next time..."

"Yeah." Chance scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed.

Jake cleared his throat. "So... I guess this means I don't have a chance with her, huh?"

Chance couldn't help the snort of laughter. "You could say that." He coughed to diminish the laughter. "Get some sleep."

"Yeah." Jake reached for the water. "Goodnight, Chance."

"G'night." Chance offered another sheepish smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Chance found Callie standing in the kitchen, gnawing on one of her usually perfectly manicured claws.

"That was awkward." Chance tried to chuckle.

"No kidding." She looked away. "Maybe next time we should just meet for lunch while he's at school."  
"_Next time_," Chance gave her a light kiss on the nose. "His room won't be the temperature of the north pole and _we _can have the privacy of my room."

Callie blushed and smiled coyly. "Speaking of his room," she grew serious. "Chance, this is serious."

"I know." The tabby sighed. "I think we might have a lead on who is behind this. We're going to give some names to the Enforcers and see what they can do." He looked at the floor. It was all he could do not to gear up himself and hunt them down. But then he'd told Jake that wasn't the right thing to do. What kind of guardian would that make him? "I swear to you, Callie. If it wasn't for the responsibilities we have here, I'd just drag him off to another town and another school in the middle of nowhere."

"This junkyard's that big of a responsibility?" Callie blinked with surprise.

Chance's mouth hung open for a moment as he struggled to find a way to fix his slip up. "Uh... well... considering I have to work here until the damage we did to Enforcer headquarters is paid off... then, yeah. If we just leave, not only would I probably be incarcerated, kitten services gets Jake and then who's watching his back?"

Callie furrowed her brow in frustration. "That's a good point." She let out a loud breath. "He got shot, for crying out loud. Certainly Commander Feral would understand the danger staying here would put him in."

Chance's ears fell forward.

"There _has_ to be something we can do." Callie said, prompting Chance to look up.

"We?" Chance glared. "Callie, you've got enough to worry about. Jake's my responsibility."

* * *

Jake leaned against the wall near the slightly open door and listened to their conversation. It was a small home with thin walls, and when he'd heard them talking about his situation, he became concerned.

"It's not just about responsibility," Callie scoffed.

"Yeah." Chance growled. "It is" He huffed loudly. "I shouldn't have even let you come over here. You're a pretty high profile target. Do you have any idea how much danger you could be in right now?"

"Any more danger than when the Pastmaster shows up wanting to marry me?" Callie rebuked.

"I'm serious." Chance glared.

"So am I."  
Jake looked down at the floor, staring at his toes in the dark. Not only was he putting Chance's life in danger, he was putting Callie's in danger as well. And Suri's. And anyone that got close. He squeezed his eyes shut; a single thought occurred to him. "If I leave, then they're safe." Soundlessly, he slid out of the door and, keeping his back against the wall for support, limped into his frigid room. The cold took his mind off the burning pain in his leg and he made quick work getting dressed and figuring out a way to get out of there without being noticed.

* * *

Chance let out a long sigh. "Callie, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. And neither would Jake. He..." The sound of a motorcycle revving to life rumbled from the shop beneath them. "Shit!" Chance ran down the hall to his room and threw open the door to find his bed empty. He backtracked and looked in Jake's room. The plastic had been removed from the bottom to middle portion of the window and a grappling hook clung to the window sill.

"What is it?" Callie asked, fear sparkling in her eyes.

"Jake's gone." Chance ran passed her and down the stairs into the garage, finding one of the bay doors open and a motorcycle they'd brought in gone. He turned to find Callie on the stairs. "I think he heard us talking."

"Where do you think he would have gone?" Callie asked, already going back upstairs to get her keys.

"I have no idea." Chance followed her to get his own keys, his paws shaking with a mix of fury and fear. "But if anything happens to him, there's gonna be hell to pay."

_**

* * *

Sorry this one took a while to get up. I had to go to a funeral two states away. Seems like there's always something going on. **_


	21. Down to the Depths

**_In reading over the story to remember a few details, I realized that I made a terrible continuity error. I started the story with Jake's friend named Justin and, between Chapters 10 and 11, it changed to Jason. I have no idea what I was doing! I apologize for that lack of attention to detail. At this point, I think I will just continue to call him Jason. Either way, the show must go on..._**

* * *

For a tense long moment, Jake was sure he was going to lose control of the powerful V8 cruiser beneath him. "Should've grabbed my helmet," he thought as the cold December air whipped passed his head. At first, his reason for leaving was to get as far from Chance and home as possible. Now, however, he wanted to end this. By the time Jake pulled up to the front gate surrounding the ridiculously large mansion belonging to the CEO of Pumadyne, he was freezing. His paws shook as he examined the security keypad. "You've got to be kidding me," he hissed as he studied the unbelievably simple device. "What more did I expect from someone who encourages his scientists to build city-destroying robots." Jake toyed with the keys for a moment and then the gate lock clicked open. He pulled one of the heavy wrought iron gates open and slipped inside. It closed behind him with an audibly clang. He winced at the noise and looked around. "Smooth," he groaned. A pair of low growls caused the fur on the back of his neck to stand on end and he cautiously looked left and then right, feeling his stomach drop as two sets of yellow eyes leered at him in the dark. He swallowed forcefully. "That explains why it was so easy to get in," he backed up towards the gate. Just as one of his shaking paws reached it, the wolves snarled viciously and lunged at him. Jake pushed against the gate only to find that the lock had latched itself. "Damn it!" He cried, jumping to reach the top of the gate, cursing the lack of a crossbar when he was just too short to reach. A pair of large paws crashed against his side, pushing him forcefully to the ground. Jake kicked out at the wild animal, forcefully pushing it back, all too aware of its companion's hot breath on the back of his neck. He curled up to protect himself from the snapping jaws. Just as he was sure the pair of wolves were about to turn him into a post-midnight snack, they suddenly froze, then obediently sat, their hateful expressions turning to a misleading look of companionship. Jake peeked out from under his arms and slowly uncurled himself to see a large figure approaching in the dark. Quickly, he moved back to his feet. The two wolves growled at him but didn't move.

"I wouldn't move much more than that if I were you." The tall, broad-shouldered tom warned in an almost jovial voice. "Javelin and Shadow here will do anything for the taste of blood." He looked down at the teen's leg, noticing a dark spot on his jeans near his shin. "You might as well be dangling a raw steak in front of them."

Jake's eyes widened, realizing he must have pulled his stitches. Then he looked down at the still growling wolves.

"Breaking and entering is a serious crime." The kat said.

Jake looked back up at the towering form, positive this tom was at least double Chance's size. "The gate was unlocked," he replied defiantly.

"No matter." He grinned. "The doc's been hoping you'd pay him a visit." He looked at his wrist. "He won't appreciate being disturbed this late, however."

"I guess I'll just have to come back another time." Jake reached for the gate again only to receive another hungry snarl.

"Nonsense." The kat grinned. "You will come with me. Javelin and Shadow are starving." He reveled in the look of terror that crossed the kit's face. "After they are fed and sent back on guard, you and I will... discuss this matter."

Jake was unmoving as the tom started to walk away.

"Javelin, please escort Mr. Clawson this way." He snapped his fingers. "Or do you prefer Furlong these days?"

Jake felt his heart sink into his stomach as the darker haired of the two wolves nudged him from the gate before nipping at his exposed paws. He was stuck now. "So you gotta name?"

"Yes." The tom answered simply, walking at a pace that had the teen practically jogging to keep up.

Jake cursed his shorter legs and the pair of wolves nipping at him every time he slowed. "What is it?"

He paused to glare at the youth. "You may call me Thorn."

"Thorn?" Jake choked out. "That's the most evil moniker you could come up with?" One of the wolves growled. He guessed it to be Shadow. "I mean... Thorn's good... I guess." A chill that had nothing to do with the December air shot up his spine as they neared a wooden shed. Thorn removed a set of keys from his pocket and opened the door. Then he glared expectantly at Jake as he removed a long knife from his belt.

Jake's green eyes widened to the size of saucers and he was certain that he was on the menu.

Chuckling, Thorn reached for a switch inside the small building, filling it with light. "After you," he pointed into the building.

Wary of the knife and the wolves, Jake quickly entered the building, followed by the mountain of muscle. Relief washed over him when Thorn opened a large bin, clearly filled with kibble. After the wolves were busy shoving their large faces into their bowls, Jake was ushered back out of the building and towards a rear entrance into the large estate. This time, however, since the wolves weren't there to threaten his life, Thorn quite forcefully duct taped his wrists together behind his back and removed a blaster from a holster Jake hadn't seen. "Now," he chuckled darkly. "It's time to get serious."

Jake squeezed his eyes shut as Thorn pressed the barrel of the blaster into the nape of his neck. "This way," he purred. He was led into the mansion through what was clearly a servants' entrance, a large kitchen and then down a short dark corridor, at the end of which was a moderately sized metal door. "Should I be surprised that he has his own torture chamber?" Jake hesitated despite the gun pressed against him.

Thorn laughed deeply. "This?" He pressed his paw against a white block on the wall. A bluish beam moved up and down and then left to right, scanning his prints, and then the door hissed open.

Jake's eyes immediately darted around the cavernous laboratory and a part of him wanted desperately to explore and examine every aspect. The rest of him, however, the rational part, told him to cooperate and not do anything stupid to get himself killed. "You wouldn't happen to know exactly what it is that your boss wants from me, do you?"

Thorn grunted and pushed him forward. "Your father was a very selfish kat."

"Preaching to the choir," Jake smirked as he was pushed down onto a bench against the wall. Thorn removed a control from his pocket and pressed a button. A silver-bluish wall appeared around them, turning the corner of the lab into a cell. Thorn smiled and rapped his knuckles against it. "Solid as steel," he said, leaning against it and twirling the blaster on one of his fingers. "How does it feel to know you were less important than Dr. Clawson's work?"

"That's a lie." Jake replied without any enthusiasm. "He did what he could to protect me."

"Oh. That's right. He hid you away and beat you until you cowered in fear of him, rather than simply giving the Doc what was rightfully his." Thorn holstered the blaster. "Do you have scars?"

"Fuck you." Jake spat. "He did what he had to do."

"That's what he told you in his will?" Thorn snorted. "You sure he wasn't settling his conscience?"

Jake clenched his jaw and glared hatefully at Thorn. "Just tell me what it is Felino wants."

Thorn laughed loudly. "The Doc always knew you were the smart one. Just in case, however, precautions were taken to ensure your honesty." He pressed another button the control and a screen embedded in the digital wall appeared, revealing footage of a rustic building in a busy town. "I hear Catbodia is the place to be this holiday. Suri certainly does enjoy the food there. And her family's quaint little hotel room is just to die for."

"I didn't come here intending to play games," Jake said meekly. "I just want to make this stop."

"Wise decision. Where's the laptop?" Thorn pocketed the controller.

"I don't have it." Jake replied, lowering his head.

"Not what I want to hear." Thorn removed the controller again and pressed a button. A timer appeared in the bottom left corner of the screen.

"But I can access it remotely." Jake huffed out.

"Not good enough." Thorn smiled. "The Doc wants _all _of it. Hard copies and everything."

"But that's my father's work!" Jake gasped. "You can't expect me to just let him have it. The AI is one thing. He wants his designs back, fine. But I'm not giving him what my father worked to keep hidden."

"Suri isn't the only thing we've got our paws on." Thorn growled. "You think we were just digging through your stuff while you were getting your little gunshot wound fixed? Or what about sweet old Rita? She really does a lot to help those who can't afford health care, but you just can't trust every homeless bum with a case of the flu."

"I don't have it with me." Jake defended. "You want the damn laptop? Give me time to get it."

"Sure." Thorn grinned. "But you aren't leaving here without a little insurance."

* * *

Chance looked at the time. It was nearly three in the morning, and he'd scoured the city for any sign of Jake. He was just climbing back into the black SUV to try a few more places when his cell phone rang. Relief coursed through him when Jake's name lit up the screen. "Where the hell are you?"

"Meet me in the hangar." Jake replied.

"When?" Chance tried to gauge the tone in Jake's voice.

"Now." Jake replied before hanging up.

Chance already had the car started and in drive. Not caring about the speed limit, he dropped one of his heavy feet down firmly onto the accelerator. He reached the salvage yard in record time and was relieved to see the customer's motorcycle Jake had pretty much stolen sitting in the open garage. Chance launched himself out of the vehicle and ran into the building. He found Jake in the hangar, a USB cord between his teeth and both his father's computers turned on.

"What the hell is going on?" Chance demanded of the frazzled looking teen.

Jake connected the cord to an external hard drive and then to the first laptop. When it started copying the contents, he grabbed Chance's arm and pulled him. "Look at this."

Chance allowed Jake to drag himself out of the hangar and then to the stairs. "What the hell is going on, Jake?"

Jake paused in front of the stairs. "I went to see Felino."

Chance's jaw dropped open. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I need this to stop, Chance." Jake gave him a pleading look. "I didn't take into consideration that he figured I would show up." Turning away, he climbed the stairs just enough to reach one of the garage's ceiling panels. Slowly he removed it, exposing an electronic device counting down from one hour, thirty seven minutes, forty two seconds. "There's another one in your mom's clinic. And one in Suri's hotel."

"Christ." Chance dragged his paws through his air. "I can disarm it."  
"That's the problem." Jake set down the panel and quickly squirmed out of his shirt, revealing a device embedded into his left upper arm just below the shoulder. It had a timer as well and was in sync with the one in the garage. "If we tamper with those, then this explodes."

Chance's ears dropped against his head. "And if we tamper with that?" He pointed at the device.

"Then everything else explodes too." Jake whispered, his fear evident. "I don't know what else to do. So... just... go make sure Rita's not crashing at her clinic and don't come back here until I tell you it's clear."

Chance's tail twitched wildly. "You're not going back there."  
"Chance, I have to." Jake pleaded. "If I do this, then we can all just move on from this."

Chance clenched his jaw tightly before pulling Jake into a tight hug. "I'm gonna check on Ma. After that, you're crazy if you think I'm just gonna sit back and wait."

"I figured you'd say that." Jake returned the hug before grabbing his shirt and running back down into the hangar. He was wasting time.

* * *

After clearing the clinic, Chance high tailed it back to the garage and down to the hangar. He paused to look at the work table where now only Jake's laptop and external hard drive rested. "That kitten's gonna get himself killed." The tabby quickly suited up and then approached the Turbokat. Rather than initiating take off sequences, though, T-Bone pressed a button to release the gunner's seat through the bottom of the jet. In slid out, transforming as it did into a very large motorcycle. He'd been working on it while Jake was at school and it was supposed to be sort of a Christmas gift. Now, however, it seemed much more practical than barreling into some scientists home with a fighter jet.

* * *

Jake looked down at his watch as he returned to Dr. Felino's home. He had nearly thirty minutes to spare. Thorn was waiting for him, Javelin and Shadow by his side. Jake swallowed nervously as he approached. Thorn opened the gate and escorted Jake at an unnervingly casual pace back to the lab. "He's stalling," Jake realized to his own horror.

"Alright," Thorn said. "Let's see it."

Jake immediately removed the two laptops from his backpack and set them on a metal table. He booted them up and waited impatiently for everything to load, repeatedly looking at his watch. "This is all of his work," he said quietly. "Now please, leave me and my family alone."

Thorn smiled an evil smile. "Certainly," he purred, holding the controller.

Jake looked up at the monitor displaying all the places that were armed, including his own little device.

"But since you have no family to speak of..." Thorn pressed a button.

Jake watched in horror as Suri's hotel exploded. His heart sank as he realized that, while Suri may or may not have been inside, there were dozens of kats in that area. "Why?" He asked, feeling sick.

"Why not?" Thorn shrugged. "I have what I want."

There was a loud rumble outside, followed by a mix of snarling and yelping. Thorn dropped the remote. "My wolves!" He shouted and ran for the door.

Shaking, Jake picked up the controller and studied it for a moment. "Please be the right button," he prayed, letting out a sigh of relief when all the remaining timers stopped. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder and he dropped to the ground, clutching the device through his shirt. His entire body throbbed as the device released it's hold. Jake removed it from under his shirt and stared at it. A sudden feeling of dizziness washed over him and he noticed that the prongs that had been embedded in his flesh looked suspiciously like needles. "Not good," he slurred before slumping to the floor.

* * *

T-Bone felt a pang of guilt for injuring the two animals. As they laid unconscious in the grass, a massive tom stormed out of the building, rage and worry propelling him towards his pets. "What have you done?" He shouted.

"Where's the kit?" T-Bone snarled.

Thorn realized too late that he'd left the young genius alone with the controller to the bombs. No matter. He would handle this Swat Kat and then finish off the teen. "By now," he smirked. "Undoubtedly unconscious."

T-Bone drove his fist into the body guards face with a growl before firing a few cement globs at him, successfully sticking him to the ground. He hesitated only a moment while he decided whether or not to be the better kat. "I ought to gut you like the slime you are," he hissed, kicking him hard in the ribs before hurrying to find Jake.

* * *

Jake was pulled back to consciousness by a somewhat familiar throbbing in his skull. Had he foolishly gone out drinking with Jason again? He tasted bile in the back of his throat and grimaced as he swallowed it back. Finally mustering up the courage to open his eyes, he found himself in a dimly lit room. Slowly turning his head, he realized there were a couple of machines nearby and an IV with a lead that went into his arm. With a soft groan, he closed his eyes. He heard voices outside the room and opened his eyes again. Weakly, he pushed himself up. The only thing connected to him was the IV. With his bottom lip firmly between his teeth, he removed it, allowing himself a moment to recover from the sting. Then, after double checking to make sure whoever brought him to wherever he was didn't leave him naked, he slid of the bed. His legs felt like jelly and a sharp pain shot up his left leg. Jake looked down at his calf. It was wrapped in thick white gauze, his reddish brown fur puffing up around the edges. "Gunshot wound," he mumbled and stumbled towards the door. It was slightly ajar. He gripped the inside handle to steady himself and leaned forward to listen.

"I don't have any say in this, Chance." Rita sighed loudly. "He got _shot_. That's not something we can just brush off. It's Susan's job to make sure he isn't in a dangerous situation."

"He'd be in an even more dangerous situation without me." Chance's voice was raised. "It's my job to protect him! No one else is gonna do that!"

"Chance!" Rita snapped. "You might be an adult. But you are still my son, and I will not tolerate you shouting at me!" She huffed. "She isn't going to take Jake, but he's got a very influential kat accusing him of breaking and entering. Not to mention he _stole_ a motorcycle to get there."

"They strapped a fucking bomb to his arm." Chance growled. "And there was one here. You saw it."

"You don't have to convince me." Rita hissed. "But he's ruffled a lot of important feathers."

Jake squinted as he struggled to pay attention. His vision started to swim and he clutched the door knob tighter in an attempt to remain upright as he started to stumble backwards.

"She just wants to do her job." Rita sighed. "Just let her..." Both she and Chance looked up sharply as the door leading to the exam room where Jake had been swung open and something crashed hard against the wall behind it. Chance moved before Rita could, pulling the door forward as he hit the light switch. "Jesus, Jake..." He swore, dropping the check the teen sprawled on his back in his underwear. "What the hell are you doing up?"

"I was jus'..." Jake slurred, scrubbing his face. "Wha's goin' on?"

"You have an altered form of gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid in your system." Rita helped Chance get him to his feet.

"Gamma-wha...?" Jake blinked at her, leaning into Chance as things seemed to sway again.

"GHB." Rita simplified. "It's a common date-rape drug."

Jake's eyes widened and then immediately dropped back into a squint as he sluggishly turned to look at Chance. "Someone was gonna rape me?"

Chance snorted. "Kit, I don't know what that kat was gonna do to you."

"Wha' kat?" Jake allowed himself to be tucked back into bed.

"Dr. Reynold Felino's body guard." Chance reminded him. "The crazy that tried to blow everyone up?"

He sighed, watching Jake's eyes start to roll back in his head.

"Let him rest, Chance." Rita said softly as she checked the needle before reinserting it into Jake's arm. "Try and leave that alone."

Jake shook his head slightly to try and clear the fog. "Sure."

Chance clenched his fists tightly by his sides as he watched Jake slip back into unconsciousness. He was supposed to have been the one to get Jake out of there. Instead, however, Dr. Felino, whom Chance was positive had been watching the whole time from somewhere inside his monstrous home, played his cards just right by calling the Enforcers, reporting a break in. T-Bone had no choice but to get out of there. He'd used his connection with the deputy mayor to pull some strings and get Jake brought to his mother's clinic rather than a hospital, however. But now she sat in the waiting area, anxious to hear the whole story as well.

* * *

Jake glared at the wall, his arms crossed against his chest and a deep scowl on his face. He was beyond pissed off, and Miss Sharpclaw knew it. "House fucking arrest," he spat. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It's the best I could do." Susan sighed. "Felino wants to have you locked up and put in the juvenile detention center for breaking and entering, not to mention nearly killing his bodyguard."

"I didn't touch Thorn." Jake defended. "And I was unconscious when the Swat Kats showed up."

Susan sighed again. "Listen to me, Jake." She leaned forward, her arms on the table between the two of them. "It's either this or therapy. It took me and Chance both to convince the Enforcers that you weren't acting rationally."

"I was acting rationally!" Jake exploded, jumping to his feet and slamming his paws against the table. "He killed my parents." He hissed. "And he tried to kill me and everyone I care about." He threw his arms up. "For all I know, Suri's a pile of ash on the other side of the globe! And you saw the explosive devices that were here and where Chance and I live! What more proof do they need?"

"Money talks, Jake." Susan was unmoved by the young tom's behavior. "And Felino has it to spare. I'm doing what I have to do to keep you with Chance. If you don't like it, I have no choice but to put you in the system."

Jake dropped back into the chair and buried his head in his arms. He should have been getting a medal. At the very least, he should have been seeing the CEO of Pumadyne in cuffs. But no. Instead, he was on house arrest until the end of holiday break, he felt like he had a hang over, courtesy of the drugs in the bomb that had left a wonderful little series of welts on his upper arm, and, to cap it all off, he now had a criminal record. "Can I go now?" He mumbled into the sleeves covering his arms.

"Sure," she sighed. "When that comes off," she added as Jake started to get up. "We're going to discuss counseling."

* * *

Chance was positive that if he and Jake were in a competition to see who was more angry about the whole thing, he would win. Not only was he furious at Jake for making such an irrational decision based on his eavesdropping, but they had clear evidence that someone had planted explosives in his home and place of business as well as his mother's clinic and the Enforcers weren't even going to investigate it. He was positive Steele's name was all over it somehow. He glared at Jake in the passenger seat. The teen had his leg pulled up and was investigating the device around his ankle. "I bet I could hack it," he hissed. "And reprogram it."

"Sure. Why don't you just go right ahead and add tampering with government equipment and jailbreak to your record." Chance said from between his teeth.

Jake looked up sharply. "Are you _seriously_ going to side with them?"

"I'm not siding with them." Chance's tone softened. "I'm tired. I'm pissed off. And I don't want to deal with another damn Enforcer for as long as I live. So, for the sake of just two weeks of peace and quiet, will you _please_ just leave it alone?"

Jake looked as if he might defy his guardian in some fashion before letting his foot drop down to the floorboard with a loud thump. "Sorry," he mumbled. He heaved in a deep breath. "You think Suri and her family are alive?"

Chance gave him a sympathetic look. "The news this morning said that most of the guests registered at the hotel were not there during the explosion."

Jake simply nodded but remained silent for the remaining ride home.

* * *

Chance looked down into the crystal tumbler and swirled the contents around. He didn't drink often, especially as of late. But he had so many things running through his mind. He broke it off with Callie, although they hadn't been dating that long. It just seemed too much of a risk. One more life in danger. She'd been understanding, and sympathetic, though it was clear her feelings were hurt. He took a sip of the expensive drink then held the glass up so that the light could reflect off the amber liquid and wondered if this was something Jake's father had done often. Staring into the golden abyss, trying to find an answer to it all. He had a good feeling Felino wouldn't try anything right away, and he was thankful for that. Both he and Jake needed a break from the constant flow of drama and tragedy. They needed a change of pace badly. Chance finished off the drink and set the glass down. Two shots of scotch was all he needed to calm his nerves before he went to check on Jake, who hadn't left his room since they got home. He paused in the teen's slightly open doorway. The glow from the screen on his laptop illuminating his spot on the bed in the dark. Chance narrowed his eyes, squinting to see better. He sighed when he recognized footage from the explosion in Catbodia.

Jake didn't look up when he heard the hinges on his door creak. "I can't find anything," he whispered. "The news is calling it a terrorist attack."

"It kind of is." Chance sat down on the bed and pulled the laptop away from Jake. He closed the browser and turned it off. "Stop torturing yourself. You aren't going to spend the next two weeks hiding in your room watching morbid news reports."

"There's so much I could be doing." Jake rolled his eyes before pointing at his ankle.

"There's plenty for you to do around here." Chance smirked.

"Right." Jake sulked. "I see myself spending the next to weeks helping you do _your_ job while you plan your next date with Callie."  
Chance winced. "Your crystal ball needs a tune up."

Jake gave Chance a curious look but didn't question him. "Either way, I don't think I'm going to enjoy the break."

"Not even Christmas?" Chance pouted.

Jake huffed. "_Especially_ not Christmas."

_**

* * *

Alright, sorry this one took so long. I got stuck and kept redoing it. Next ones should go smoother. **_

_**Nyte Kat**_


	22. A New Year

_**I just realized that T-Bone calls Razor 'Kiddo' in the episode 'Destructive Nature'. Go me. Anyway, this one was kind of filler too. I'm totally going to give Jake a little tour of what it's like to be a geek in high school and this one is working towards that. **_

* * *

Chance refolded the papers and stuck them into his pocket before going back down into the garage. He paused on the stairs, one eye brow arching upwards slowly and head tilting slightly to the side as he stared at Jake. The teen was elbows deep in an engine, a streak of grease across his cheek, and he was singing along to a song on the radio. The problem wasn't that Jake was singing along. It's that he was overcompensating to match pitch with the female singer. Chance cleared his throat loudly, finding a bit of joy in the way it startled the youth. "Got your schedule for the new semester in the mail." He held up a sheet of paper that was different from the one in his pocket.

Jake's ears flicked forward slightly. "My grades didn't come in?"

Chance nodded his head. "Yep."

"Where are they?" Jake looked expectant.

"You did fine." Chance rolled his eyes.

"I don't doubt that." Jake huffed. "I just wanna see how fine."

"You mean you wanna see if your English and Science grades came up." Chance gave him a knowing look.

"They didn't, did they?" Jake's ears fell flat. "I don't understand the big deal on participation." He scowled and lowered his gaze back to the engine. "It shouldn't matter as long as I got all the answers right."

"Relax," Chance laughed and pulled the report card from his pocket. "I'm just yankin' your chain."

Jake jerked the folded paper from his guardian's paw and studied it. He let out a heavy sigh when he found that he really hadn't made an A in either class.

"You got a B." Chance scoffed. "Don't act like it's the end of the world. A B is practically an A in my book."

Jake glared at him before crumpling up the piece of paper and tossing it at the trash. "It's still a B in mine. What do I have to look forward to on Monday?"

"Uh..." Chance looked down at the schedule. "Advanced Geometry first, German second, then, my personal favorite, World History for third period a-a-a-nd... Music Comprehension?"

Jake winced and then looked suddenly depressed. "Suri talked me into it."

"Oh." Chance felt a pang awkwardness. They'd silently agreed not to talk about Suri until Jake heard something, whether it be when (or if) she and her family got home safely, or when school started up again. "That's cool." He handed the paper to Jake. "Don't lose that."

Jake huffed out a breath. "Did you forget who you're talking to?"

"The same kit who can't seem to keep his room clean for more than a day or two at a time." Chance smirked.

"It's not messy." Jake countered.

"Right, right. I forgot. It's 'controlled chaos'." Chance laughed. "Oh!" He drove his paw back into his pocket. "I almost forgot you got your reading list for summer for Advanced English II."

Jake groaned. "Already? What boring so-called important works of literature do I have to drag myself through now?" He took the list and scrunched up his nose. "I'm not reading Wuthering Heights."

"Shooting for underachiever next year too?" Chance teased.

"Bite me." Jake frowned.

"Speaking of biting." Chance was once again grinning. "You have a dentist appointment tomorrow after they come to take off your little bracelet."

Jake's mouth dropped open. "Aw come on, Chance!"

Chance held up his paws defensively. "Hey, I was gonna let you slide but I have my own rules I have to follow in this." He cleared his throat. "Then after that, Susan set you up for this whole counseling thing. Which I argued against on your behalf."

Jake sighed. "Well maybe she'll realize she and whatever shrink she found are wasting their time."

"Maybe." Chance grimaced. "It depends. They will probably do a psyche eval or something and it depends on that."

"No sweat." Jake looked a bit relieved. "I've already passed one of those."

Chance nodded his head, remembering the Enforcers issued Psyche Evaluation. "Well hopefully nothing's changed since then."

* * *

"It's not that bad," Chance said, breaking the tense silence between him and the clearly upset teenager in the passenger seat.

"It's ridiculous." Jake replied, his eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"You aren't the only kat in the world to ever need braces." Chance said.

"There is nothing wrong with my teeth." Jake defended.

"They'll be off before prom." Chance added.

"I don't care about prom." Jake hissed. "What about the Swat Kats? I can't be a vigilante and have braces."

Chance laughed. "We'll get you a mouth guard or something."

"Let's just keep adding stuff to the dork-list, shall we." Jake glared.

"Since when do you care what other kats think?" Chance shot him a sideways look.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks," Jake mumbled, looking out the window.

"That's not what it sounds like to me." Chance replied in a sing-song voice.

"Whatever," Jake hissed. "The point is that I don't need or want braces."

"Sorry." Chance replied with a shrug.

"_Sorry_?" Jake choked out.  
"Yeah." Chance said. "Sorry you're not getting your way on this. End of discussion." He pulled into the parking garage connected to Megakat Memorial Hospital.

Jake made a face. "My psych evaluation is in the psych ward?"

"Yep." Chance replied.

Jake sucked his cheek between his teeth and clamped down, keeping the expletive desperately wanting out in.

* * *

Jake watched Chance approach the receptionist to sign him in while he strolled casually over to the waiting area and dropped into one of the many empty chairs. Chance walked over to him and had just started to lower himself into a seat as well when the heavyset she-kat behind the desk called Jake's name. Chance started to follow him.

"You're coming with me?" Jake gave him a disbelieving look.

"Yeah." Chance answered. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It's a psych evaluation. That's just between the patient and the doctor." Jake explained.

"I know." Chance smirked. "Got something to hide?"

"No. Just wondering how you plan on violating protocol." Jake shoved his paws into his pockets.

"You're a minor, in my custody. That gives me a right to know what goes on between you and whatever shrink they got lined up for ya." Chance replied.

"Oh." Jake answered, looking somewhat nervous.

The receptionist led the pair into another waiting room, this one less like a hospital and much smaller. In fact, it looked somewhat like a lawyer's office or something, with nice comfortable chairs and a couch with a coffee table covered in magazines and fake plants. "Dr. Treuse will be with you shortly." The plump receptionist said curtly before handing Jake a clipboard. "You will need to fill this form out completely." With that she left.

Jake sucked in a breath while he studied the questions on the clipboard. "Have you ever tried to harm yourself?" He glared at Chance. "Seriously?"

Chance shrugged. "I told you, I tried to get you out of it. Just... be honest."

"Right." Jake sighed, twirling the pen between his claws. "No," he said aloud as he scribbled down his answer. "Do you have a problem with anger, such as having a temper? No."

Chance made a noise in disagreement.

"I don't." Jake glared at him. "Do you resent being given advice?" He looked at Chance before writing another 'no'. "What do you like to do in your free time?"

Chance chuckled. "Put on a mask and fly around the city."

Jake laughed too. "Sure," he played along as he wrote down 'mechanical design and invention'. He dragged a paw through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck, a feeling of awkwardness creeping over him as some of the questions hit a personal level he hadn't expected. He bit his lip and bounced his leg nervously, wondering what Chance was going to think of him after he heard some of these answers. Or maybe he wouldn't hear the answers. Maybe this was just for the psychiatrist's use. He shot Chance a sideways look as he scribbled out an answer and wrote something else. Then he scratched that and wrote something else. "Quit psyching yourself out," he silently scolded himself. There was the click of a door opening and a she-kat wearing black slacks and a vibrant blue silk button up blouse walked out, her pumps making barely a sound on the thin carpet. "Jacob?" She asked in a slightly husky voice.

Jake fumbled the pen in his paw and grabbed wildly at it, catching it before it hit the ground. "Y-yeah," he croaked, blushing at the nervousness.

"And you must be Chance?" She asked looking at the muscular blond tabby.

"Yes ma'am." Chance stood up and took her paw.

"You two can call me Charlotte." She smiled brightly before taking the clipboard from Jake. "I've been anxious to meet you."

"Really?" Jake's brow furrowed. "Why?"

Charlotte laughed. "You've got quite the interesting background. A bachelors in engineering at age nine, a career in the Enforcers as a developer in their R&D department and a decorated gunner. That's quite a lot to be proud of."

Jake ducked his head. "Yeah."

"Have a seat," she instructed as she shut the door behind them.

Jake surveyed the room, his eyes landing on the box of toys and the small kittens' table in the corner before settling on the overstuffed couch, complete with plush throw pillows, against the wall, which was painted an earthy green. He sat down, shooting Chance a look before following Charlotte with her eyes around the room as she walked over to an equally comfortable looking chair, her eyes taking in his answers on the clipboard. "So tell me, Jake." She sank into the chair, folding her legs underneath her as she did. "What's it like having accomplished so much to wind up back in high school?"

Jake shifted uncomfortably. "It's okay."

"I bet you feel out of place." She smiled sympathetically.

"You could say that." Jake replied.

"You seem nervous."

Jake shrugged nonchalantly. "This is a lot different from the last evaluation I had."

"I'm not on Enforcer payroll." Charlotte chuckled. "Relax and it won't be like pulling teeth."

Jake glared at Chance. "Yeah."

"I have just a few concerns I want to confront here." She smiled softly, holding up the clipboard.

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, shooting another look at Chance and suddenly wishing they could have done this as a one on one session. Jake pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and then wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans.

"You seem to have had quite a bit of indecision in some of your answers." She shifted so that she was sitting with one leg crossed over the other. "Why is that?"

"I..." Jake fidgeted. "I wasn't sure I understood the context of some of the questions."

Charlotte looked up from the questionnaire. "I see." She looked back down at one of the questions: Has anyone ever abused you in your life? And then at his record. "Tell me about your dad."

"He..." Jake drummed his claws on his legs. "He's dead."

"I can see that." Charlotte looked sympathetic. "What was he like?"

Jake closed his eyes and sucked in a breath.

* * *

Chance stood on the landing overlooking the work area in the hangar watching Jake perfect a device he was adding to their arsenal called 'X-Ray Beam'. It was late, and the teen had spent the remainder of his day buried in his latest project, trying not to make any sort of contact with Chance, which the tabby was fine with. He needed his own time to process some of the things Jake had said in what would be his first session with Dr. Treuse. He sighed and looked down at the pizza he'd ordered, hoping it would be a suitable peace offering. "Hear goes nothing," he thought, sucking in a deep breath before descending the stairs.

"Hey kiddo," Chance said quietly, setting the flat box down in an empty spot on the table. "I got your favorite."

"You can take off the kitten gloves," Jake replied in a near whisper without so much as looking up. "I'm not hungry."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Chance frowned. "Are you going to avoid me from now until the end of time or what?"

Jake screwed up his face and set down the screwdriver. "I'm not avoiding you. I'm just..." He sighed. "There's some stuff I never expected to ever have to, you know, tell anyone." He rubbed his eyes with the back of one of his paws. "And talking to shrinks is like talking to lawyers. They ask you trick questions."

"Either way, the words 'I don't want to talk about it' have no meaning, right?" Chance opened the pizza box, hoping the aroma would convince Jake to eat.

"Right." Jake agreed, eying the pizza. "Look, I really don't feel like eating right now, Chance." He looked up, giving his guardian a pleading look.

"Sure." Chance sighed. "I'll just put this in the fridge." He closed the pizza box and left Jake to tinker with his invention. The phone started to ring as soon as he stepped back into the office. Chance started to pick up the office phone when he realized it was the one for the house that was ringing. "Hello." He said, cradling it in his ear and starting to go out of the office and up the stairs to the house.

Jake's head snapped up when Chance poked his head back down into the hangar.

"Hey, you!" Chance shouted from the stairs. "You got a phone call."  
"I'm not here." Jake replied, looking back down.

"Oh trust me." Chance grinned. "You're gonna want to take this one."

"Who is it?" Jake looked back up.

"Suri."

Jake's eyes widened and he was up the stairs in record time, snatching up the phone. "Suri?"

"Jake," her voice sounded tired on the other line.

"Are you guys alright?" He asked anxiously, taking the cordless phone with him as he followed Chance up the stairs to their home.

"Sort of," Suri replied quietly, her voice wavering a bit. "I suppose you saw what happened on the news?"

"Yeah." Jake never thought he'd be so relieved to hear someone's voice. "You guys weren't there, were you?"

"My mother was." Suri whispered.

Jake's ears flattened. "Suri, I..."

"I was just..." It was easy to tell she was trying not to sound like she was crying. "You know, returning your calls."

"Are you going to be at school on Monday?" Jake asked.

"No." Suri replied.

"Oh." Jake tried to keep from sounding disappointed.

"My father and I have a funeral to plan." She said.

"When is it?" Jake asked. "I wanna be there."

"You don't.."

"Yeah, I do." Jake said sternly, clenching his free paw into a tight fist.

"Okay," she breathed into the phone. "I'll... I'll call you when I have the date. I have to go."  
Jake stared at the phone. Suri hung up before he could say goodbye.

"So one less crisis, huh?" Chance asked, a cheerful look on his face.

Jake shoved the device into Chance's paws. "Her mom was in the hotel."

"Oh," Chance winced. "Jake, it's not..."  
"Stop." Jake interrupted him. "Don't you dare tell me this isn't my fault."

"It isn't." Chance said sternly. "If anyone should be blamed, it should be your father. You did everything you were asked to do to stop that Thorn kat from detonating the bombs."

"I'm beginning to think that maybe my father knew that, no matter what he did, someone was going to die." Jake replied quietly.

Chance was struck silent by the teen's hopeless tone. He looked down at the floor as Jake turned and disappeared into his bedroom, slamming the door loudly. He just started to walk away when the klaxon alarm blared loudly.

* * *

"I figured we had at least until the spring before we had to deal with Dr. Viper again." T-Bone said as he flew the jet back towards their hidden hangar. "Haha, good thing we aren't on the same power grid that you took out back there, Razor." He chuckled as he used the control to open the entrance.

"What about everyone else that is?" Razor asked. "It's freezing outside."

"It's no different than if we had a snow storm knock out the power." T-Bone frowned. "Don't worry about it."

"Hey T-Bone." Razor released his harness as soon as the Turbokat was unmoving on its platform and being lifted to the main floor of the hangar. "I've been thinking about this whole thing with you and Callie."

"We aren't talking about it." T-Bone glared at the console in front of him.

"Okay, but in the meantime," Razor rolled his eyes. "I don't see any reason you can't keep seeing her. It seems like she's in danger no matter what. And it's not like you can avoid her. Her car's in the shop _again_. She has to pick it up sometime. And what if she ends up getting, like... whatever the opposite of Stockholm Syndrome is?"

"What?" T-Bone gave his junior partner a confused look.

"Well, you know, when the hostage falls in love with the hostage taker? She sees less of Chance and more of T-Bone and, considering you two are the same kat, she finds herself falling for the one that keeps saving her life and forgetting about the one that only wants to fix her car and not take her out to dinner." Razor pulled off his mask as he jumped from the cockpit to the hard concrete floor.

"Maybe you really do need therapy." Chance glared at him.

"I'm just saying..."  
"I know what you're saying." Chance sighed as he changed out of his flight gear.

"Just at least consider it." Jake gave him a pleading look.

Chance stared at the teen for a moment before exhaling loudly. "Fine. In the mean time, are you gonna help me drop that new engine into her car or are you gonna keep moping around down here?"

Jake looked from Chance to his projects before heading for the stairs.

"Hey Jake." Chance stopped him.

"Yeah?"

"That Cyclotron idea really paid off." Chance complimented.

"Thanks." Jake ducked his head. "But, for once, I'm not the one that actually built it."

"Yeah I know." Chance nodded his head. "But you're the one riding it. And you didn't crash and burn, so I'd say it's a job well done."

Jake shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Right." Chance couldn't help but smirk. "Let's get back to work."

* * *

**_tbc..._**


	23. Claws Deep

_**Another long one for ya. Enjoy.**_

* * *

Chance held out a small bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water.

"I hate you," Jake mumbled, glaring at the tabby as he snatched the items from his paws.

"It's not that bad." Chance tried to keep a straight face.

"Yea," Jake unscrewed the cap. "It ith."

"It what?" Chance's blue eyes twinkled; he cleared his throat to disguise his laugh.

"I thaid it ith." Jake shook out a paw full of pills. He looked up at the muffled chuckle. "Thtop laughing. Ith not funny."

"Sorry." Chance cleared his throat again. "You don't need to take that many."

Jake sucked in a breath. "Let me punch you in the mouth and then you can thay that." He cautiously opened his mouth, tossed in the painkillers and then washed them down. Then he stuffed the pill bottle into his backpack.

"You have your excuse?" Chance double checked.

"Uh huh." Jake carefully dragged his tongue across the metal brackets on his teeth back to the rings around his molars and then swallowed back the extra saliva his mouth was producing to compensate for the new addition.

"You wanna stop and get you a milkshake or something on the way?" Chance asked, dropping his attempt to cheer the teen up.

Jake looked thoughtful then shook his head. "No."

"What are you gonna eat for lunch?" Chance offered a sympathetic look.

Jake simply shrugged and willed the pain to subside. "Nothing I gueth." He groaned. "How long am I gonna have thith thtupid lithp!"

Chance clenched his jaw shut to keep from laughing out loud. "Patience young Padawan," he teased.

"Padawan my ath." Jake mumbled, folding his arms over his chest and stared, sulking, out the window.

Chance sucked in another breath and continued the drive to school. He hated the fact that Jake was missing almost his entire first period on the first day back but it was better to miss orientation than an actual lesson. He was almost to the school when he finally brought up what had been on his mind since the night before. "So I thought about what you said about me and Callie."

Jake turned his head just enough so that Chance could see he was paying attention and waited.

"I asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner tonight so that we could talk."

"Tho I've got the plathe to mythelf tonight?" Jake asked, a hint of humor in his tone.

Chance smirked. "Not quite."

"Pleathe tell me I'm not gonna walk in on you two having thex again." Jake pleaded.

"Okay," Chance laughed. "Can you not say 'sex' until the lisp goes away? I'm having a hard enough time keeping a straight face right now and that's just making it harder."

"_Thith_," Jake pointed at his mouth. "Ith your fault. Tho I'm gonna thay whatever I want and you're gonna like it. And I thupoth that meanth Rita ith coming over."

"No." Chance pursed his lips in thought. "You're going over there."

"What?" Jake glared. "Chanth!"

Chance snorted. "What if something happens while me and Callie are out and she hits the Swat Kat alarm. Do you know what my mom would do? She'd blow a gasket!"

"You're almotht thirty and thtill afraid of your mom." Jake frowned. "I would be fine by mythelf."

"I'd be a lot happier knowing you were with someone." Chance glared. "So I'm dropping you off at her clinic and she's gonna take you back to her place where I will pick you up when I'm on my way home."  
Jake's ears fell flat against his head and he resumed his glare out the window.

Chance heaved a sigh as he pulled up to the school. "Do I need to come sign you in?"

Jake shook his head and threw open the door. "Nope."

"See you after three." Chance watched him grab his new backpack, the old one having been ripped apart by whoever broke into their home.

"Yep." Jake replied, slamming the door shut.

Jake had twenty minutes left in his first class. To be honest, he actually looked forward to Advanced Geometry. Math was his favorite subject and, while he knew it would be boring, he thought it might be fun. He gave his excuse to Mr. Snow, a short, fat, ironically, dark furred kat with thick rimmed glasses.

"How nice of you to join us Mr. Furlong." He rumbled in a thick voice, giving his student a detesting look.

"Thorry. I had a dentitht appointment." Jake lisped.

"I beg your pardon?" Mr. Snow glowered.

"I thaid I had a dentitht appointment." Jake repeated a bit louder, wincing at the sudden eruption of laughter from the class. His cheeks and ears flushed immediately.

"Very well then." He handed Jake his copies of the first-day paperwork for the class. "Here is your book and list of supplies you will need for the semester. I expect you to have everything by Friday."

Jake nodded, accepting the book and papers.

"Now take a seat so I can get back to work." Mr. Frost pointed at an empty desk in the middle of the classroom.

Jake looked around, not recognizing anyone from his first semester classes, and sighed. It wasn't much longer after he'd taken a seat that the bell rang and he left in search of his Beginner's German class. He passed Jason in the hall.

"Hey," Jason turned around and jogged back to him. "I couldn't find you this morning."

"Yeah." Jake glared at him. "I wath late."

"What?" Jason blinked at him. "What are you eating?"

"Huh?" Jake blinked back at him.

"You sound like you have something in your mouth." Jason curiously peered closer at his friend's face.

"Thtop." Jake jerked his head back.

Jason's eyes widened. "Smile."

"No." Jake glared.

"Come on." Jason reached a finger out to push up one of Jake's lips.

Again Jake jerked his head back and, rolling his eyes, parted his lips just enough for Jason to see.

"Oh that sucks!" Jason gasped.

"No shit," Jake replied lowly, somehow managing to get the s and t to sound almost right. "You know what lunch you have yet?"

"No." Jason shook his head.

"Damn." Jake cursed. "I need to ask you thomthing."

"Well if I don't see you then, I'll see you after school. Right?" Jason asked.

Jake nodded.

"Hey, you haven't seen Suri. Have you?" Jason looked around as if she might just appear.

"No. But I talked to her latht week." Jake replied. "She said she wouldn't be here today."

"Oh." Jason frowned. "Okay. Well you can tell me about it at lunch or after school. I gotta hurry."

Jake had to practically run to the other side of the school for his foreign language class, and he got there just as the bell was ringing.

"Guten tag!" A tall, sandy-furred she-kat beamed excitedly as Jake slipped into an empty desk. "I am Frau Shuman and willkommen zum Deutschen fur Anfanger!" She wrote on the board as she was speaking.

Jake sniffed and scrunched up his nose. There was a strange odor in the classroom. He looked around to see if anyone else noticed it before leaning forward and cringing. It seemed to be coming from the student in front of him. No wonder no one else was sitting near him. Jake leaned back, trying to put some distance between himself and the young tom whose head was covered with a ratty, faded beanie with greasy brown hair sticking out from under it. He was wearing an orange and black pullover that looked like it had cigarette burns in it, and jeans that were torn in enough places to be considered designer if it weren't for the drawings and stains on them. Jake tilted his head some more, eying the kit's mud encrusted shoes and duct tape repaired book bag under the desk. Sitting back up and shaking his head, he looked up at the teacher, forcing his attention away from the smell.

Frau Shuman was an energetic she-kat and she jumped right into teaching by having her students, one by one introduce themselves, in German of course. The smelly kit in front of him introduced himself, unenthusiastically, as Andrew. Jake unconsciously leaned back in his seat when Andrew slouched back in his own, earning himself a thump on the back of the neck. Jake turned around to find the boy behind him glaring. "Ya mind?"

Jake stared at the teen, dressed in black with calico fur and what appeared to be eyeliner. "Sorry," he lisped out a quiet apology.

"Whatever, brace-face." The boy, who'd introduced himself as Trevor, snorted.

Jake blinked in surprise at the insult.

"You got a staring problem too?" Trevor asked, prompting Jake to turn back around.

"Brace-face?" He mouthed to himself. "Says the kit wearing makeup." As the bell rang, Jake made a mental note to get to German a lot sooner so that he wouldn't have to sit near Andrew or Trevor. With his History class back on the other side of the school, he found himself in a rush once again. At this rate, he wouldn't have time to change books between classes. He was nearly breathless by the time he reached the door to Mr. Culberth's classroom.

"Last name?" The very tall, very broad-shouldered gray tom asked sternly.

Jake was eye-level with his midsection and slowly looked up until he met the face of his teacher. "Uh... Furlong."

"Furlong." Mr. Culberth repeated and then pointed. "Second row, fourth seat back. Your name is on the desk."

Jake looked at the index cards taped to the desks as he walked. He allowed himself a small smile when he saw Suri's name on the desk to the left of his, but it vanished when he noticed the card on the desk behind him read 'Trevor Fulton'. "Maybe it's another Trevor," he thought, but his hopes were diminished when the goth-punk from his German class strolled through the door just before the bell.

"Hey Metal-mouth." Trevor grinned maliciously. "Nice to see a familiar face."

Jake inhaled deeply, reminding himself that he was the better kat. "Your makeup's smeared." He pointed out before sitting down in his own seat and turning to face the front of the class. Mr. Culberth, who wasted no time in explaining how he was a retired Enforcer, informed them that they would be having second lunch before handing out a perfectly detailed itinerary of their lesson plan for the first half of the semester. Jake could feel the dull pain that radiated from his mouth up to his brain returning as time crawled towards lunch. When the bell rang, he quickly removed the bottle of ibuprofen from his bag and slipped it into his pocket before sliding his bag under his desk and following his fellow students out the door. His stomach rumbled loudly and he silently cursed himself for not taking Chance up on his offer to get him a milkshake. The usually disgusting cafeteria smells were overbearingly enticing. "Maybe I can manage very very small bites," Jake thought as he got in line, looking around for Jason or even Miranda. He wouldn't mind having a word or two with her either. Getting a slice of rubbery-looking pizza, a cup of gelatin, and a bottle of juice, Jake paid for his lunch and looked around for a secluded spot. Finding one, he sat down and began tearing the pizza into miniature pieces.

"Hey there _friend_."

Jake snapped his head up as the chair beside him slid back loudly. He frowned when Trevor dropped heavily into the seat. "Can I help you?"

"Actually," Trevor smiled. "You can."

Jake felt the fur on the back of his neck prickle and started to look over his shoulder as an arm wrapped around his throat. He tried to suck in a breath only to get a nose full of a familiar putrid stench. Go figure. Andrew and Trevor were friends. Surely there was a teacher or a principal or someone watching. Jake dug his claws into Andrew's arm hoping to force him to let go, but Andrew simply chuckled and tightened his hold. Jake wheezed, glaring at Trevor as he helped himself to the tray of food. "Get his wallet."

Andrew used his choke-hold to pull Jake up enough to reach into his back pocket with his free paw and pull out his thin leather wallet. He tossed it to Trevor.

"Let's see here." Trevor opened the wallet and laughed. "Someone's makin' bank." He pulled out the wad of cash and stuffed it into his pocket.

Jake jerked and sank his claws in as deep as he could as spots started to fill his vision. Just when he was sure he was going to pass out, the pressure around his throat released. Jake gripped the edges of the table as he sucked in breath after breath.

"Thanks for lunch, twerp." Trevor laughed. He was clearly the voice between the two of them.

"Are you okay?"

Jake slowly looked up, surprised and somewhat relieved to find Miranda looking at him with a worried expression. Still wheezing slightly, and positive he'd have bruising around his throat, he nodded.

"I saw what happened." Miranda sighed and pushed her tray to the middle of the table. "You can have some of mine if you want."

Jake shook his head. "Wasn't really hungry," he lied.

"Oh my god," her eyes widened and she leaned forward. "Did you get braces?"

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah."

Miranda laughed for a few moments before beginning to nibble on her food. "So how was your Christmas?"

"Eventful." Jake glared at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She shrugged, tossing a fry into her mouth.

"How close are you and your brother?"

Miranda made a face. "Pretty close."

"Like 'not a secret between you' close?"

She gave Jake a curious look. "He asks me a lot about school."

"Does he ever ask you about me?"

Miranda narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. All the time."

"Like what?"

"Just, you know, how you're doing since becoming a normal teenager." Miranda ate another fry. "Why?"

Jake shook his head. "Just some weird stuff going on. You think you can do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Next time someone asks about me, say you don't know." Jake gave her a pleading look.

"Why? What's going on?" Miranda looked suspiciously.

"I can't really talk about it." Jake looked down at her tray and tried not to look as hungry as he felt.

Miranda sighed. "Okay." She shook her head. "Weirdo." She picked up her tray and looked around before looking back down at Jake. "You should stay away from those two kats. Someone told me Andrew was in an institution, and I know for a fact Trevor's been bullying kits since the third grade."

"Great." Jake glared at her. "I have classes with both of them."

"It was good knowing you." She frowned. "See you later." She walked away just as the bell was starting to ring.

The remainder of History slipped by quickly, and Jake finally made it to his last class of the day. He'd thought for sure he'd have this class with Suri, but, when Mr. Spieker went through the role call, he didn't call her name. At least it was something different, and his classmates appeared to be all more on the geek side than the bully side, which was a plus. He had a feeling that the class he'd never seen himself taking would be the most enjoyable and it went by quickly. By the time the final bell rang, Jake was almost dizzy from hunger and his mouth was aching again. How in the world braces were supposed to improve his teeth was lost on him. How could something that hurt so badly be good for you? Still, his speech had improved as the day wore on and he gradually became accustomed to the hardware.

Jason was waiting for him when Jake left the building. "So what's up?"

"How close are you and your dad?" Jake asked.

Jason winced. "He's not really someone I like to talk about."

"Oh." Jake looked somewhat sheepish. "Sorry."

"Why the interest?"

"Um, well, it turns out that he... uh... knew my dad."

Jason frowned. "Go figure. Were they friends?"

Jake shrugged. "I dunno. We weren't really close. I was just wondering if he ever mentioned him to you."

Jason shook his head, sighing. "No. He's... well.. Lucy is his favorite. She asked about you by the way."

Jake looked surprised. "What?"

"Yeah. She's got a major crush on you and talks about you all the time."

Jake made a face. "Interesting."

"Are you okay?" Jason chuckled as he asked. "You're being all weird."  
"Yeah." Jake shook his head, jumping slightly at the sound of a car horn. He turned to see the SUV he'd inherited. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey! What about Suri?" Jason shouted.

Jake paused. "I'll... I'll call you tonight."

* * *

"Can we _please_ stop and get something to eat?" Jake begged Chance as soon as he got into the car.

"You didn't eat lunch?" Chance asked, frowning sympathetically.

Jake shook his head. "Not for lack of trying." He absently rubbed his throat.

Chance leaned closer to Jake, a dark patch of skin catching his attention through the fur. "Someone try to choke you?"

"Something like that." Jake let his head thump back against the seat. His stomach growled angrily. "Seriously, can we stop?"

"We've got food at home." Chance frowned, anxious to hear how his young charge was choked at school.

"But this morning you..."

"Fine." Chance sighed. "What happened at school?"

"This." Jake pointed at his teeth. "Is a magnet for trouble."

Chance listened intently as Jake proceeded to explain to him how he'd been ambushed and had both his lunch and his money taken from him.

"I mean this kit should need stitches by how deep I'd clawed him." Jake held out his paws so that Chance could see the dried blood on his claws.

"And nobody saw this going on?" Chance asked, his voice deadly calm.

Jake shook his head. "Well, except Miranda."

"And she didn't do anything?"

Jake shook his head again. "Apparently they have a reputation."

Chance sucked on the back of his teeth and silently fumed until he pulled into the drive-thru. "What do you want?"

"Chocolate milkshake." Jake answered. "Large fry. No. Extra large fry. And two cheeseburgers."

Chance blinked in surprised. "Anything else?" He asked with a chuckle.

Jake gave the question serious thought before shaking his head. "No."

Jake made quick work of breaking the burgers down into small bite-size pieces and demolished them in no time. Then he started on the fries, all the while slurping on his shake.

"If that happens again," Chance referred to the incident at school. "You need to tell Mrs. Catsby about it."

"Or I could just deck 'em." Jake replied.

"You're not getting suspended again." Chance glared.

"It would be self-defense." Jake defended.

"I have no doubt that you could take them." Chance pointed out. "But you've got a lot more riding on this then they do. They'll most likely drop out in the next year or so anyway."

"I'm not gonna let someone push me around like that, Chance." Jake complained.

Chance sighed. "Fine. But you get suspended, and you're gonna hear it. You need to tell someone before it gets out of control."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Okay. Jeez."

* * *

"So it's Saturday at one?" Jake used one of the note pads Lisa, Rita's receptionist, kept on her desk. Suri confirmed the date and time and then promptly got off the phone. Jake sighed loudly and looked at his cell. He tossed it back and forth from paw to paw before finding Jason in his contact list and pressing the send button.

Rita grabbed her coat and her purse and leaned against the wall connecting to the reception area. She watched Jake expectantly as he swiveled back and forth in the old computer chair, talking on the phone. She hoped that his friend Jason wasn't involved in the threats. It was good to see him enjoying the friendship of someone his age. "Jake," she said, catching his attention. "Time to go."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Jake said into the phone before ending the call. "Have you heard from Chance?"

Rita gave him a funny look. "He's only been gone an hour."

Jake frowned. "Right."

"Don't worry about him, sweetie." She set the alarm before locking the doors behind them. "Goodness it's cold!"

Jake exhaled forcefully, watching his breath come out in a puff of fog. He was warm in his bomber jacket, but that didn't change his dislike for the winter.

"I threw together a stew and put it in the Crockpot this morning." Rita said as she unlocked her station wagon. "Perfect food for a night like this." She waited until Jake was in the car and buckled in before turning the key. It clicked and then nothing. "Oh come on."

"Did you leave your lights on?" Jake asked.

"No, honey. I didn't." Rita sighed.

"Pop the hood." Jake instructed her as he got back out of the car. He was thankful for the streetlights illuminating the parking lot as he quickly spotted a loose battery cable. "You have a wrench?"

"There might be one in the trunk." Rita answered, getting out of the car.

"A screwdriver would work too." Jake told her as she searched for an appropriate tool. She handed him a pair of channel locks. "Thanks," he quickly tightened the cable back. "Now try it."

Rita got back into the car and tried again, cheering when the car started. Jake shut the hood and got in. "Thank you, dear." She leaned over and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

Jake winced at the pressure against the brackets on his teeth.

"Sorry, baby." Rita frowned, settling back into the driver's seat and putting the old car in reverse.

"S'okay." Jake offered a small smile.

* * *

Chance leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Now _that_ was a good steak."  
Callie laughed loudly. "I agree." She removed her napkin from her lap and set it on the table. "I was really glad you called me."

Chance leaned forward. "I was just so worried about dragging someone else into all of this."

Callie smiled coyly. "Well I'm no stranger to a life of excitement and danger."  
Chance laughed. "I won't argue that." He sighed. "I swear, this whole experience has left me feeling a lot older than I am."

"I can't imagine the pressure you have on you." Callie commiserated.

"Oh don't get me wrong. Jake's a great kit. I wouldn't trade this for the world. But I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and looking out for threats." Chance dragged a paw through his hair. "And he's so back and forth between moods lately that I don't know when to, as he put it, take the kitten gloves off. And this is the first time, without counting work, that I've gone out and done something for myself."

Callie took a sip of her wine. "You could have brought him along."

Chance chuckled. "Yeah." He inhaled. "But considering how your last visit... escalated into something else, I needed to remind myself that I'm the adult and he isn't."

Callie hid her smile with another sip of wine. "I hope that dating me doesn't add to your stress."

"I'm sure it will." Chance grinned, taking a pull on his beer. "But it will be worth it." He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and removed it, his eyes narrowing into worried slits when he saw Jake's name on the caller ID. "Sorry." He said to Callie before answering it. "Yeah?" The worry slid off his face. "I'm fine, Jake." He couldn't help but chuckle. "She's fine too. I'll call you if something catastrophic happens or when I'm on my way to pick you up." Chance felt a bit guilty for hurrying the teen off the phone. "Sorry." He apologized again.

Callie brushed a loose strand of her blond hair back and smiled. "I think it's kind of sweet."

Chance blushed a little and then cleared his throat. "You 'bout ready to get out of here?"

* * *

Jake paced around Rita's living room, constantly looking out the window and then at the time. He'd had a very minimal amount of homework and he'd polished off three bowls of Rita's vegetable stew, and then he'd tried to watch television until it was time for Chance to come get him.

"Sugar, if you don't stop pacing a hole in my floor, I'm gonna put you to work refinishing it this summer." Rita scolded him as she adjusted one of the curlers she'd just put in her hair.

"Sorry." Jake looked sheepish

She adjusted her long bathrobe and then put her paws on her hips, fixing him with a look she'd given her son quite often when he was young. "You need to get more sleep," Rita brushed her thumb across the soft fur on one of his cheeks. "You've got circles under your eyes."

Jake pulled his head away to look out the window when a pair of headlights cast shadows around the room. He exhaled loudly when he saw Chance get out of the black SUV.

"Go get your stuff together." Rita told him before going to the door to unlock it and let her son in. "Hey baby."

"Hey Ma." Chance gave her a hug and stooped so she could kiss him on the cheek. "Did he eat?"

Rita laughed. "Oh yeah. I was gonna send you some left overs but he ate half the pot."

Chance looked surprised. "I figured he'd still be full from all the crap he ate after school."

"Mmmhmm." Rita shook her head. "You don't remember your father threatenin' to put a lock on the fridge door when you were his age?"

"Yeah, yeah." Chance shook his head, grinning.

Rita gave him a serious expression. "He worries, you know."

"I know." Chance shoved his paws into his pockets.

"Boy's gonna give himself an ulcer." Rita tightened her robe again, turning as she heard a spot on the floor groan.

"Ready?" Chance asked.

Jake nodded.

"Get some sleep." Rita pulled him into a crushing hug before he could get away and planted another one of her loud, wet kisses on his cheek.

"Yeah," Jake replied with a gasp as the air was squeezed out of him.

"Call me when you get home." Rita said to Chance before giving him the same treatment.

"Yes ma'am." Chance followed Jake out the door and to the car.

"Funeral's Saturday at one." Jake said once they were on the road.

"Alright." Chance nodded his head. "You figure out anything about your friends?"

Jake sighed. "Well, Miranda is hard to read. She said her brother asks about me a lot. I can't tell if she's covering for him or not. And Jason, well, I think he's telling the truth. He did say his little sister is always talking about me though, and that she is her father's favorite." He furrowed his brow in thought. "I really just don't know." Jake shook it from his thoughts. "How was your date?"

Chance's grin was automatic.

* * *

Jake rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. It was almost three in the morning. He threw himself onto his back and sighed, wishing he had a switch and he could just shut himself off. It was just so hard to sleep knowing someone was out to get him. One of the streetlights illuminating the salvage yard in the dark filtered in through the blinds he'd left open and onto a poster he had on his wall. It was for a movie based on a comic; The Great Kat Detective. It was about a kat whose family had been murdered and he grew up to be a vigilante by night, investigating crimes and dishing out his own punishments. Jake's eyes widened. "Duh," he whispered and slid out of bed. He quickly dressed and left his room, pausing to listen for Chance's loud snoring before sneaking out of the apartment and down to the hangar. "Jake Clawson might not be able to get answers." Jake pulled out his mask. "But Razor can."

* * *

_**dun dun dun...**_


	24. A Kat In The Dark

The feeling of falling was never a good feeling to wake up to. Jake let out a startled gasp as he realized that he really was falling backwards. He flailed wildly as he and his chair hit the hard tiled floor with a loud crash. Obnoxious laughter from above and behind him quickly pulled him from the shock. Jake glared up at Trevor and Andrew with the most amount of hatred he could muster before considering just staying on the floor and sleeping until the bell rang.

Andrew nudged Trevor and motioned to the nearby school principal. "Catch you later, dweeb." Trevor made a point to step on one of Jake's paws as he walked away. Heaving a loud, impatient sigh, Jake rolled off the fallen chair and picked it back up. Grabbing his bag and looking down at his paw to make sure it wouldn't be too sore to use, he made his way out of the cafeteria where he'd been catching a nap before class. A soft paw caught his arm and he looked up, quickly moving into a defensive position.

"Jake," Suri gave him a surprised look.

"Suri." Jake gasped before pulling her into a tight hug. "I wasn't expecting you to come back this week."

"I... I wasn't either but I needed to do something normal." She looked down at his wide smile and made a face. "What is with the braces?"

Jake groaned. "Please, Suri. If one more kat asks me about it, I'm gonna go postal."

"Alright." Suri chuckled in spite of how sad she felt. "I, um... I got you something." She opened her satchel and pulled out a small green and red gift bag.

"You didn't need to," Jake felt guilty. "I didn't get you anything."

"I got to go to a different country." Suri shrugged. "It's a souvenir. Not a Christmas gift. That isn't a holiday I celebrate."

"Oh." Jake replied, reaching into the bag and pulling out a braided hemp and bead necklace.

"It was made by the monks to raise money to repair one of their temples." Suri explained. "They called it 'The Eye of Catbodia'."

Jake rolled the colorful glass bead around in his paw. It really did look sort of like an eye. "Thanks." He smiled and immediately put it on. "How do I look?"

Suri shrugged. "It looks good on you." She reached around him to adjust it so that it was a little higher up. "Looks better like that."

"So..." Jake shoved his paws into his pockets and looked down at his shoes. "I...uh... I have a class with you."

"Which one?" Suri adjusted her satchel and walked beside him.

"History." Jake replied.

"Third?" She asked

Jake nodded his head.

"So we have lunch together as well." She offered a wane smile.

"Miranda has our lunch too." Jake frowned.

Suri shrugged. "She isn't so bad." She looked at the time. "I better hurry. I will see you in third period."

"Yeah." Jake offered a quick wave as she darted off. As he hurried in his own direction, he collided with a kat he hadn't seen since his first month of high school: Lonnie Hooktail.

"'Ey watch it!" Lonnie shouted and shoved Jake forcefully before realizing who it was. "Oh, sorry about that, kit." He smiled and brushed Jake off.

"Lonnie." Jake said with surprise. "You haven't been hiding from me, have you?" He teased.

"Ha!" Lonnie laughed. "Nah. What's going on? You put any other kats in their place yet?"

"No." Jake had a sudden idea. "But I could use your help putting a couple of them away."  
"Who?" Lonnie appeared interested.

"This kit named Andrew and his pal Trevor Fulton."

Lonnie blinked in surprise and then vigorously shook his head. "Uh uh. You're on your own with those two."

"What?" Jake was shocked. He was positive Lonnie wouldn't hesitate to bash someone's head in.

"Fulton? If he was on his own? Yeah I'd take him out. But I ain't goin' near Drew Pinkerton. Kit's a psycho and a half." Lonnie forcefully poked Jake in the chest. "If I was you, I'd change my name and move to a whole 'nother town if they're on your case. All your kick-ass ninja skills are useless against those two."

Jake exhaled loudly just as the bell rang.

"I'll see ya later, kit... if ya make it to later!" Lonnie laughed as he casually walked off.

* * *

"You enjoy your little wake up call this morning?" Trevor hissed into Jake's ear as he slid into his seat behind him in History.

"You needed an entire class to think of something antagonizing to say?" Jake rebuked.

"Whatever, railroad." Trevor chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "What's on the menu today?" He rested his feet on the back of Jake's seat, effectively pinning his tail.

"My fist," Jake ground out in a barely audible tone.

Trevor responded by grinding his foot against Jake's tail, drawing out a sudden yelp of pain. Satisfied, he dropped his foot loudly on the floor.

Jake gently curled his tail against his hip and scowled down at his notebook. Something thumped against his arm and he slowly turned his head to find Suri giving him a curious look. She held out a folded piece of paper. Jake quickly snatched it.

_Is Trevor bothering you?_

Jake shot her a sideways look before scribbling down his response. _Yeah. I don't know what I did to piss him off, but he and his little friend Andrew have been on my case since yesterday._ He handed the note back and tried to force himself to focus until lunch. It wasn't an easy task.

"We could take them." Suri said quietly to Jake as she stood in the lunch line behind them. Jake looked over his shoulder and spotted them waiting.

"You have no idea how badly I want to just beat the shit out of them." Jake frowned. "But Chance said if I got suspended again, he was kicking my tail."

"What does he expect you to do?" Suri frowned.

"Tell the principal." Jake replied in a mocking voice and then sighed loudly. "What's the most disgusting thing on the menu?"

"The fish sticks." Suri grimaced. "And the mushy peas."

"If they're going to be eating my lunch," Jake eyed an equally dubious looking vegetable medly. "I might as well make sure they eat their veggies."

Jake shared a look with Suri as they approached the waiting bullies. Before Trevor could harass Jake about his meal, he simply handed his darkly clothed peer the lunch tray. "Enjoy." Jake grinned as he walked off.

"What the hell is this?" Trevor gasped in disgust. "Dude," he looked at his perpetually silent cohort. "I think it's moving."

Andrew made a grunting sound and turned to watch Jake and Suri sit together at a table. He forcefully grabbed Trevor by the sleeve so that he could watch their target share the girl's lunch.

"Oh that does it." Trevor tossed the lunch, tray and all into a trash bin and walked over to the table where Jake and Suri sat.

Suri gave Jake a sympathetic look as he tore one of her fries in half and cautiously chewed it. "How long before you can chew normally?"

Jake snorted. "Two years."  
Suri laughed at his exaggeration. "Seriously?"

Jake shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe a week or two." He wiped his mouth with the back of his paws. "Maybe in that time I will stop slobbering when I talk too."

Suri gave him a horrified look. "Ew." She looked back down just in time to see her tray pulled away.

"Hello beautiful." Trevor smiled at her.

"Bite me," Suri growled and jerked her tray back.

"I'd love to." Trevor grinned and leaned forward.

"Back off," Jake hissed, throwing his arm in front of Suri.

"Aw." Trevor mocked. "Is she your wittle girlfriend?" He laughed.

"She is." Jake replied, giving the bully a daring look and ignoring the surprised one Suri was giving him. "Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?" Trevor smiled darkly. "Especially since I can just take whatever I want from you."  
"I'd like to see you take..." Jake let out a startled gasp as Andrew's paw wrapped around his throat. He felt something sharp against his flesh.

"Let him go." Suri commanded.

"What are you going to do?" Trevor laughed.

Suri saw the glint of steel between Andrew's paw and Jake's throat. He gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes. In a moment of swift action, Suri lifted her tray and nailed Andrew in the face with it. Jake moved backwards with Andrew to try and keep the blade from cutting him and then ducked out from under his arm.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Trevor grabbed a fistful of Suri's dreads and jerked her head forward. She let out a gasp of pain.

"Let her go!" Jake warned.

"What are you gonna do, brace-face?" Trevor snarled.

Jake effortlessly leaped onto the table, dropped to his knees and drove his fist into Trevor's face. He squawked with pain as blood gushed from his nose.

"You little punk!" Trevor pushed Jake off of him.

"Jake!" Suri shouted.

Jake looked up in time to see Andrew barreling towards him. He rolled out of the way and slid off the table, watching as Andrew collided with Trevor.

"Let's get out of here." Suri pulled Jake's arm, dragging him out of the cafeteria before the supervising teachers realized they were involved in the scuffle.

Jake shivered as a blast of cold wind swept over him. "I'm sure we could have just gone somewhere inside." He jested.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Suri asked suddenly.

"Now?" Jake choked out.

Suri nodded.

"But we still have the rest of History and then fourth period." Jake pointed back at the school as he followed her to the sidewalk.

"I know." She bit her lip.

"So you just wanna... skip school... to go for a walk?" Jake blinked. Was she out of her mind?

Suri nodded again, giving him a pleading look.

Jake sighed. "Can we at least go grab our stuff before we ditch the rest of our classes?"

* * *

"How old were you when your mother died?" Suri asked, blinking up at the gray sky.

Jake sucked in a breath. "Four... maybe five."

"You don't remember?" She rolled onto her said, the dead grass crunching beneath her.

"I don't spend a whole lot of time trying to recall her death." Jake felt her eyes upon him but didn't meet them.

"Was it tragic?"

"Isn't it always?" Jake watched the darker clouds moving underneath the lighter ones and closed his eyes as another icy cold wind swept over him.

"My father blames himself for her death." Suri rolled onto her back once more. "She wasn't feeling well and he insisted that she go back to our room and rest." She dug her claws into the nearly frozen soil. "I just cannot bring myself to understand the purpose of such acts."

"Suri..." Jake pushed himself up. "I... I'm sorry about your mom."

"You cannot apologize for what you did not do." Suri closed her eyes. "Your mother died in an accident?"

"I thought it was an accident." Jake pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his thin arms around them. "Did you see your mother after the explosion?"  
Suri shook her head. "No. My father would not allow it."

"Then you'll always remember her how she was before." Jake rested his chin on his knees.

"How do you remember your mother?" Suri asked innocently.

Jake stared at her for a long moment before returning his gaze to the open field. "I was with her when she died, and it's like that's the only day I can ever remember when I think about her."

"Do you dream about it?" Suri's voice wavered.

Jake sucked in his cheeks. "Do you?" He whispered.

"Every night since it happened." Suri answered back.

"Sometimes, I don't dream of anything. Other times, it's good dreams." Jake tenderly bit his lip. "But when I do dream about it, I swear I can still smell the blood."

Suri pushed herself up and leaned against Jake. "That's horrible."

Jake snorted softly. "Y-yeah," his voice cracked. The alarm on his cellphone went off. "We should head back to school." He stood up and held out his paw to pull Suri to her feet. She stumbled as her shoe caught a hole and fell against his chest. Jake took a step back to steady himself and looked down to find her staring up at him. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "Sorry."

Suri straightened and chuckled nervously. "I... uh..." She brushed the grass off her clothes and then timidly slipped her paw into his. "We better go."

* * *

"Looks like we might actually get some snow this time." Chance said when Jake got into the car.

"Awesome." Jake cheered unenthusiastically. "School will get canceled and I get to help you tow little old ladies out the ice."

Chance frowned. "What a buzz kill."

"Didn't you hear? I'm the picture of optimism." Jake frowned.

"Yeah." Chance snorted. "Right. How was school?"

"Fine." Jake said simply. "Suri was there today."

"How is she?" Chance asked.

Jake shrugged. "Her mom just died. How's she supposed to be?" He unconsciously touched the paw-crafted necklace around the base of his throat.

"What's that?" Chance narrowed his eyes at it.

"Suri... um... Suri got it for me in Catbodia."

Chance arched an eyebrow. "And, to think, you didn't get her anything."

"It's not a gift. It's a souvenir. It just means that, next time I go somewhere neat I have to get her something." Jake shrugged, fighting back the urge to smile.

* * *

Chance watched the steady snow falling for a moment longer before closing the garage bay doors and going into the customer waiting room. Jake had wanted to do his homework upstairs for some reason, claiming it was too cold in the lobby, but the television remained on. Chance stood for a moment, watching for school closings but nothing had been announced yet. He locked the door and headed for the stairs. The steady streaming of soft music from Jake's laptop on the kitchen table was the only sound in the small home, and the only light on was the one above the small dining nook. Chance frowned as he looked at Jake, cheek pressed against his notebook and eyes tightly shut.

"Jake," Chance gently shook him.

"Wha...?" Jake jerked awake.

"You feelin' alright?" Chance worried.

Jake rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Yeah. What time is it?"

"Just after six." Chance noted the heavy bags under Jake's eyes.

"Crud," he yawned. "Sorry, I just.." He stretched. "Guess I dozed off."

"I'll say." Chance mussed up Jake's hair before going into the living room and turning on the television. "It's snowing pretty hard outside. You might actually get to miss school after all."

Jake shrugged and looked down at his History assignment, wondering what he'd missed in the second half of the class.

Chance flipped through channels until he found the news again. Finally seeing a list of closings, he waited until he saw Jake's school before asking if he wanted to watch a movie.

"No thanks." Jake replied, now focused on his laptop. "There's something I've been wanting to work on."

"Another nifty gadget?" Chance looked excited.

"Maybe." Jake replied cryptically as he opened the information he'd collected in the very early morning hours. Just as he'd suspected, Steele had a steady stream of emails between himself and Dr. Reynold Felino. They were encrypted, though. He sighed as he began putting together a program to open the files. It was tedious work on minimal sleep and he kept getting distracted by the sounds coming from the television. Whatever movie Chance had settled on sounded like a good one. Jake frowned. He'd have the whole day tomorrow to work on this, and, with the weather, sneaking out to do more investigating was probably a bad idea. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked at the time. It was too early to go to sleep. Jake turned off his laptop and picked up his schoolwork, putting it all away, before dropping heavily onto the opposite side of the couch as Chance. Within moments, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"_Mama," Jake blinked the bleariness from his eyes and groaned. "My head hurts." He squinted to make out her form in front of him. Why wasn't she answering? And what was that all over the window? Why was he upside down? His tiny paws shook as he unfastened the seat belt and he let out a startled gasp as he fell the short distance between his head and the roof of the car. "Mama," he whimpered as he crawled towards her. "Mama, wake up!" He shouted when he found that her eyes were closed and she was covered in blood. Jake shivered. It was getting dark, and it was so cold. "Mommy," he sniffled. "Please, mommy. I'm scared." This time he gripped her with both his paws and shook her with as much force as he could muster. Her body flopped like a rag doll and blood splattered from her head onto Jake's face. He gasped and jerked away._

Jake threw out his arms to stop the fall just before his face smashed against the rug. He groaned and sat up. Looking around, he found a blanket twisted around his legs and grayish light filtering in through the dingy blinds covering the windows in the living room. Removing the blanket, Jake stood up and stretched, his body stiff from the old couch. Just as he pulled the blades apart on the blinds to look at the surprising amount of snow that had been dumped on them, he heard Chance's alarm go off. Jake shivered and rubbed one of his paws down the opposite arm in an attempt to push back the chills. "I wish it was summer," he mumbled as he let go of the blinds and walked away.


	25. Winter Blues

Thank you all for your patience. I've been working on this while I was sans a computer. I've got a couple chapters ready to go as soon as I get them typed up.

* * *

Jason Felino wiped his glasses on his shirt and then put them back on. He jerked in surprise to see Jake walking through the doors so late, and so close to the bell. "I was sure we wouldn't be going to school today too." He joked as he approached his friend.

"Yeah." Jake replied quietly.

"You okay? You look kinda... green." Jason backed away slightly.

"Chance had to tow a whole bunch of kats yesterday. There was this she-kat on her way to the doctors. I think I caught something from her." Jake clutched his stomach.

"Why didn't you stay home?" Jason maintained his distance.

Jake shrugged. "I wasn't feeling so bad until I got in the car." He looked at the time and groaned. "I'll catch you later. I have to get to my locker before the bell."

Jason sighed. He'd barely spoken to his friends since the semester started. "High school sucks," he mumbled.

* * *

Jake dragged a paw through his hair for the hundredth time, wiping away the sweaty feeling. He exhaled slowly, staring down at his desk, thankful he'd managed to get a spot away from Andrew. What was that kit's issue? Did he not know what deodorant was? He bounced his legs anxiously under his desk and looked at the clock again. Finally the bell rang and he launched himself from his desk and out the door.

The rancid cloud of smoke that assaulted Jake as soon as he pushed open the door to the boys' room had him gagging before he could duck into an empty stall.

"Whoa," a familiar voice coughed from behind him. "Dude, go home. Seriously."

Jake spat weakly into the toilet and flushed before turning to look at Jason. He leaned against the side of the stall. "Why do you smoke this shit?"

Jason looked at the small smoldering joint between his claws and chuckled. "I have no fucking clue. You wanna hit it? I mean, if you're seriously going to try and tough it out the rest of the day, this will probably relax you enough to make it."

Jake looked at his friend and then walked over to the bathroom door. He hesitated for a moment before sliding the heavy trashcan in front of it to block it from opening. "Alright." He cleared his throat. "On one condition."

"Really?" Jason blinked in disbelief. "I'm game."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Jake sighed and then hiccuped. He grimaced at the foul taste in his mouth. "What does your dad have to do with my dad's death and the kat that shot me?"

Jason stared bleary eyed at Jake for a long moment before gasping. "_Your_ dad was the CEO of Claw-Tech Enterprises?"

Jake nodded.

"Shit." Jason looked like he'd had the wind knocked out of him before he handed Jake the weed. "You're gonna need this."

Jake looked down at it.

"A deal's a deal, bro." Jason shook his head and sat down on the floor beneath the paw-dryer.

Jake sat down next to him. "You... uh... you wanna tell me..."

"You're so innocent." Jason seemed awestruck. "Okay, inhale the smoke and hold it in for a minute before letting it out. It's gonna suck the first time."

Jake closed his eyes. "Here goes nothing." The smoke burned like nothing he'd ever felt before and he pitched forward, choking until his stomach threatened to spill out again. As he coughed and sputtered, his head began to spin. "What's the appeal of this again?"

"It's like a light switch for your brain." Jason took the joint back. "You can just shut off and not care."

"Right." Jake let his head rest against the wall.

"I told you me and my dad don't really get along well?" Jason asked. When Jake nodded slowly, he took a quick puff and sighed. "Ya see, he's always so wrapped up in Pumadyne. It pisses me off. He can't just leave work alone for one second. He was always obsessing over Claw-Tech. I heard him say once that he didn't care who he had to take out to make sure that company went down. Something about how his plans were stolen. That the company was a fraud."

"That's bullshit." Jake chuckled and shook his head, trying to work out why it was so funny. "My dad had the rights to those designs. He perfected them. Your dad is just jealous."

Jason shrugged. "You could be right. Dude. I didn't know you were the same brat-genius he always went on about. And my little sis, all she talks about is you and how 'cute' you are. I swear, bro, I've never said anything about you to him. We seriously can't be in the same room without arguing."

"I'm so tired of this shit." Jake unthinkingly took the joint back from Jason and took a second hit. It was a lot easier the second time. "I just wanna live a normal life and not have to worry about kats fucking wanting to kill me and stuff."

"That sucks, kat." Jason took the last hit and then tossed it into one of the toilets and flushed. "I think the bell for third rang, like, an hour ago."

"Shit." Jake stumbled to his feet and grabbed his bag. He blinked, feeling like he was in slow motion as he hurried to History. When he got there, the classroom was empty. "Fuck," he laughed. "It's lunch already?"

Suri looked around while she waited in the lunch line. She could have sworn she'd seen Jake that morning. Had he gone home? A slender, coppery furred arm around slid around her waist. Suri firmly gripped it at the wrist and turned to glare at whatever jerk thought he could just come up and touch her. "Jake," she gasped and let him go. "You startled me."

"Sorry." He grinned at her.

Suri tilted her head and then leaned down to sniff him. "You smell like Jason," she whispered.

"Yeah I ran into him earlier." Jake answered slowly. "What's on the menu? I'm starving."

Suri sighed, burying her concern. "Chicken nuggets."

"Awesome." Jake stood on his toes to see how far away from the food he was. "Why is the line so long?"

Jake started munching on his food before he even got to where he paid for it. By the time he passed Trevor and Andrew, his tray was half empty.

"Where you been hiding, Furlong?" Trevor jerked the tray away from him.

Jake blinked up at his swollen nose and eyes and snorted. "Dude. Your face looks awful!"

"What is wrong with you?" Suri hissed in his ear.

"I owe you for the other day, ya little punk." Trevor gripped the front of Jake's shirt.

"Sorry. Can you come a little closer?" Jake grinned. "I couldn't hear you."

* * *

Chance exhaled loudly as he exited the small bathroom in the garage. He rested his paw on his stomach and winced. "I don't know what the hell I ate," he groaned. "But I sure as hell wish it would stay down." He wondered how long the phone had been ringing when he walked into the office. "Megakat Salvage and Repair," he huffed.

"Chance," Jake's voice wavered a bit on the line.

"Please tell me you aren't sick too." Chance groaned.

"Uh..." Jake hesitated. "Not exactly."

Chance was so angry by the time he got to the school, that he was oblivious to his unsettled stomach. He stormed into the school office and right passed the secretary before marching straight into Mrs. Catsby's office. He sucked in a breath as he took in Jake, dried blood around the base of his nose and on his shirt. One of his eyes was beginning to swell and there was a nice gash above it. Chance exhaled slowly as he shifted his gaze from Jake to the two skinny young toms nearby. They were scowling and looked like they'd been mauled by a cheese grater. Suri was leaning against the wall, a foul look on her face. Chance closed his eyes as he turned his head back to face Jake. "I thought I told you not to let it get out of control?"

Jake flinched but maintained his silence. He could practically feel the rage radiating off his guardian. His ears flattened against his head when Mrs. Catsby informed all four of them that they were suspended for a week. The ride home from school was tense. Jake kept his focus on his knees and his mouth tightly shut.

"Go upstairs." Chance said tensely after he'd parked the suv and gotten out of it.

Jake shot him a wounded look and quickly complied. He paced around the kitchen nervously until he heard Chance's heavy footsteps on the stairs. "Crud," he hissed. He still felt like he was moving in slow motion and he was beginning to worry that Chance would notice. "He's gonna kick my ass into next year," he mumbled.

Chance slowly opened the door and then closed it behind him. He leaned against it and gave Jake the most disappointed look he could muster. "What did I tell you to do?"

Jake gave Chance a wide eyed look and then looked to the left. "Um."

"Look at me." Chance's voice was deadly calm.

Slowly, Jake returned his unsteady focus to the tabby. "To go to Mrs. Catsby."

Chance nodded. "Why didn't you?"

"Um.." Jake felt the uneasiness returning to his stomach. "I... I was going to. But... but then we had the snow day... and then.." He swallowed the sour taste in the back of his mouth back down. "I just..." Jake whimpered and practically threw himself over the sink.

Chance had to fight to keep his own stomach still. He closed his eyes and held his breath. When Jake stopped vomiting, he opened his eyes and pointed towards the other side of their home. "Go to bed."

* * *

Jake tried not to be emotional. Tears weren't something his father allowed. But, after spending several hours either curled up in bed or on the bathroom floor without Chance so much as checking on him once, he was feeling so guilty that he felt like he might just cry. He hugged his pillow close to him and looked at the clock. Certainly Chance had called it a day by now. Carefully sliding out of bed, he looked out of his door. It was still silent but there was a light on in the kitchen. Jake waited for a moment to see if there was any movement. He felt disappointed when there wasn't. It suddenly occurred to him that Chance had asked if he was sick too. "Sick too?" Jake felt his heart sink. He timidly knocked on the door to Chance's room. When there wasn't a response, he quietly opened the door and sighed. He wasn't there. "Did he leave?" Jake wondered and then shuddered at the sudden thought of being alone and vulnerable. He dropped heavily onto Chance's bed and squeezed his eyes shut. "You're not a kitten," he scolded himself even as he shivered again.

* * *

Chance looked at the time and sighed. It had taken so long for him to get those cars fixed between having to stop every so often to run to the bathroom and then having to get Jake. It was almost eight by the time he finally called it a night and locked up. He decided he'd change out of his work clothes and then see if Jake felt like eating before going to bed. He'd lecture Jake tomorrow. Chance flicked on the light in his room and froze. He eyed the teenager curled up on his bed, shivering like it was twenty degrees and eyes squeezed tightly shut. Chance sighed, quickly changed out of his greasy coveralls and into a loose pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and then sat on the edge of the bed. He gently patted one of Jake's legs until the teen's eyes fluttered open.

"Cold?" Chance asked.

Jake nodded stiffly.

"Yeah I've been getting chills all day too." Chance looked sympathetic. "Why are you in my room?"

Jake weakly pushed himself up. "I was looking for you." He replied tiredly. "Did you leave?"

"I was downstairs. I had to work late." Chance couldn't help but sound irritated. "Come on." He pulled Jake to his feet. "Whatever you wanted, you can tell me from your own room."

Jake tiredly let Chance usher him back to his own bed.

Chance pulled back the rumpled covers and waited for Jake to climb in before covering him up. "Alright." He sat near Jake's head with one foot on the floor and the other bent at the knee. "What's on your mind?"

"Why didn't you yell at me?" Jake asked, his green eyes sparkling.

"I was saving that until I felt better." Chance smirked.  
Jake seemed to pale a little bit at the thought. "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" Chance asked.

"For not listening." Jake looked away. "I thought I could handle it." He looked back up, a guilty expression on his face. "Since I'm in trouble anyway, can I make a couple of confessions?"

Chance narrowed his eyes. "What'd you do?"

"I cut the rest of third and all of fourth the other day with Suri after getting into it with Trevor and Andrew at lunch." Jake paused. "And I snuck out a few nights ago, as Razor, and copied Steele's files." He gave Chance a timid look.

"Anything else?" Chance asked, his look of worry turning back into surprise.

Jake swallowed. "Yeah." He closed his eyes. "I smoked weed with Jason in the bathroom after German in a bargain to get him to tell me what he knew about his dad." He cracked an eye open and noticeably flinched at the fiery look Chance was giving him.

Chance half chuckled as he stood up. "You feel up to eating anything?"

Jake shook his head slowly.

"Then go to sleep." Chance said sternly before leaving the room and letting the door shut loudly behind him. Jake's eyes widened and he fought the urge to follow him. The rational part of his brain reminded him that, right now, the best thing to do would be to follow orders. Jake buried his face into his pillow. "I'm so stupid," he mumbled.

* * *

Chance looked expectantly at Jake when he finally left his room the next day. He suppressed the smirk when Jake gave him a 'deer in the headlights' look. "Feel better?"

Jake nodded stiffly.

"Good." Chance pointed at an old, beat up stool nearby. "Sit."

Jake looked around the shop for a moment, like a caged animal looking for a way out, before sitting on the faded, ripped seat.

"I'm so pissed off right now." Chance leaned against the car he was working on to glare at Jake. "That I don't even know what to address first." He shook his head. "I think I'm more upset about you going off, risking your life without telling anyone than I am about you skipping school."

Jake anxiously swiveled on the stool, keeping his focus on the grease-stained concrete floor.

"Did you get anything out of it?" Chance asked, surprising the teen.

Jake snapped his head up, gave Chance a suspicious look before nodding his head. "Regular correspondence with Felino. The files are encrypted though. I haven't really had a chance to work on it."

"I wouldn't count on any free time opening up for ya." Chance pointed at him with the wrench he'd been using. "I want your laptop. And I want you out of the hangar unless you got my permission. I already changed the code on the lock."

"But what about...?"

"If you need it for school." Chance smirked. "You can use the computer in the office."

Jake's jaw fell open. "Chance! That's not a computer! It's a dinosaur!"

"Internet on it works fine and so does the word processor." Chance shrugged. "That's all you need for school."

Jake snapped his jaw shut and returned his focus to the floor. "Fine," he mumbled.

"Now this whole mess at school." Chance shook his head. "I mean, what are you doing? Trying to see how many rules you can break in one swing?"

Jake winced. "Skipping was Suri's idea."

"And you just said 'sure. Let's do it'?" Chance looked disbelieving.

"Chance." Jake sighed. "Her mom just died. I'd just had some douche-bag hold a razor blade to my throat for pretty much no reason. She wanted some air and she begged me to come with her."

Chance's eyes narrowed into angry slits. "A razor blade?"

Jake nodded.

"Did you even bother mentioning this to your principal?" Chance looked as if he might burst a blood vessel.

Jake bit his lip but didn't answer.

Chance gripped the wrench and fought the urge to throw it across the garage. "I'm gonna have a word with her before you go back to school."

"Chance.." Jake started to protest.

"I gave you the opportunity to handle it the right way and you just let it escalate." Chance cut him off.

"I have classes with both of them!" Jake argued. "It's just going to make it worse."  
Chance shook his head. "It's not up for debate."

Jake sighed loudly and resumed his sullen posture.

"Now what does Jason know about your pops?" Chance asked.

Jake shrugged. "Nothing. He doesn't really get along well with his dad. He's heard him talking about taking out Claw-Tech by using any means necessary but he said he never made the connection."

"You believe him?" Chance sat down the wrench and hooked his thumbs in his pockets.

Jake made a face. "Yeah. I think I do."

Chance nodded and turned back around. "Did you like it?"

"What?" Jake asked.

"Smoking weed. Did you like it?" Chance asked, staring down the engine of the old Cutlass. Jake's hesitation was enough of an answer but he decided to give the kit a chance.

"I..." Jake closed his eyes. "It won't happen again, Chance. I only did it to get him to tell me about his dad."

Chance bit the inside of his cheek sharply. "Damn straight it won't happen again." He tried his best to keep the growl out of his voice. He softened a bit when he turned back around and saw the way Jake was cowering. "I'm not gonna hit you."

Jake relaxed marginally.

"If this happens again." Chance stepped closer to Jake, removing the distance between them. "_Any of this_, the Swat Kats are done. I don't care how much work we put into it or how much the city needs it. Next time one of those boys does something stupid or you feel the need to just skip a class or two, it's done. Same thing goes for you sneaking out. And if I so much as think I smell weed on you, don't think I won't get you tested."

Jake fought the urge to lean backwards.

"Are we clear?" Chance asked.

Jake nodded tensely. "Crystal," he whispered.

"Good." Chance hissed. "Now you're not gonna spend all day hiding upstairs. I got a whole pile of junk right outside that needs to be sorted and I gotta have this car done by noon, so go change and get your tail out there and get to work."

* * *

Jake closed his bedroom door behind him and leaned against it. He and Chance had just come home from Suri's mother's funeral. Her father had apparently been more forgiving of her being involved in a fight at school, but it wasn't clear or not if she'd confessed to skipping class. Still, she'd looked beautiful despite her reason for being dressed up. Jake felt ashamed for how he was thinking about her on such a sad occasion. Especially when he'd been the entire reason there was a bomb in the hotel. He'd wanted to tell her so bad but he was afraid she'd hate him. Jake sighed loudly and removed his tie. He swore he could smell her shampoo on it from where she'd hugged him and thanked him for coming. Jake closed his eyes and inhaled the arousing aroma. A loud pounding on his door jerked him from the trance.

"Hurry up!" Chance shouted. "We've gotta meet Ma for dinner in half an hour!"

Jake let his head thunk against the door and he cast a downward glance at the tie he was still holding before finally forcing himself to focus on changing out of the formal attire. He slipped on a pair of jeans that had been faded when he bought them and then worked a studded belt through the loops. He paused in front of the mirror on the inside door of his closet to admire the definition finally beginning to show in his chest and arms, a drastic change from his clearly kitten physique he'd been trying desperately to shed. Satisfied, Jake pulled on a slightly fitted shirt, grabbed his bomber jacket and hurried out of his room before Chance could say another word about the time.

Chance gave Jake a good once over, noting how the cuffs of Jake's pant legs weren't completely dragging the floor anymore. He fought the urge to comment on the teen's height. Jake really hated the short jokes. "He might actually be looking me in the eye by this summer," he thought with a smirk.

"What?" Jake asked when he caught the look Chance was giving him.

"Nothing." Chance grabbed his own jacket. "We're running late."

Jake rolled his eyes. "You'd think Callie was gonna be there or something."  
"Heh," Chance replied.

Jake's eyes widened. "Wait. Let me guess. We're picking her up. She's having dinner with us and then I'm going home with Rita so that you can hit it without feeling guilty that there's a kit in the other room."

Chance blanched a bit. "So I can 'hit it'? Really?" He sighed. "You're staying the night with Ma so you can clean out her basement for her tomorrow."

"What?" Jake gasped. "Chance..."

"Grounded," Chance reminded in a sing-song voice.

"Right." Jake frowned.

* * *

"This used to be Chance's room." Rita said as she fussed with the pillows. "Is it warm enough in the house?"

Jake dropped the backpack that Chance had already had packed for him on the floor by the door. "It's fine, Rita."

"Alright." She patted him on the cheek. "Get some sleep."

Jake looked at the clock. It wasn't even ten yet. "Sure. Goodnight, Rita."

"Goodnight, sweetheart." She smiled affectionately before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Jake sat on the bed and winced when it groaned loudly. He sighed and stood back up. There was a chest of drawers, a small table by the bed with a lamp on it, a desk by the window and a closet. Curious, Jake opened the drawer in the beside table. His eyes widened as they took in the cover of an old Play-kitty. "I bet she hasn't done more than dust in here in years," Jake thought as he gently pulled the magazine from the drawer. It was dated October 1997. As if handling an ancient manuscript, he carefully turned the pages. His heart skipped a beat as he ghosted a paw over a pair of spread, light blond furred legs. Excited by his find, Jake took a quick moment to look through the remaining pages before carefully tucking it into his bag. "Wonder what else he's hiding in here." The chest of drawers was empty except for some moth balls. Inside the desk drawers were several tiny model planes. Jake neatly lined them up on the desktop as he examined them. Finally, he found a kit for one, the box still sealed. "Guess he never got to put this one together." Jake turned the box over in his paws. He was surprised. It was a replica of the Blue Manx. Carefully, he used a claw to slice the tape, wondering how long it would take for him to put it together. The task was just slow and dull enough to make him tired. 


	26. Spare The Rod

Jake let out a loud sneeze, followed by a second and then a third. He groaned and wiped the dust off his face with his sleeve. He'd been working for hours, dusting, moving furniture and throwing out broken or torn items. Now, as he swept the bare concrete floors and looked around the bare basement, he was ready to call it a day. Right on time, the door up the flight of stairs creaked open.

"How's it coming?" Rita asked, coming only partially down the steps.

"Done." Jake replied, his voice a bit scratchy from the dirt.

She leaned over the banister to look around. Satisfied, she smiled. "This will look great after it's finished."

"Finished?" Jake asked.

"I'm having carpet laid down, the walls finished. You know. Getting some use out of it." Rita shivered. As it was, the basement wasn't insulated. "Come on up. You can wash that dust off of ya."

Jake rested the broom against one of the brick walls and went upstairs.

"Go on and take a shower, sweetie." Rita ushered him towards the stairs leading to the bedrooms when he'd paused after getting a whiff of something delightful baking in the kitchen.

Jake gave her a suspicious look but he was so itchy and covered in filth that he wasn't about to argue for the sake of knowing what she was making. When he'd thoroughly scrubbed every inch of his fur and washed his thick, shaggy hair, Jake dressed in clean clothes and went back downstairs to find out what else Chance might have left for him to do.

"I made you a snack." Rita purred, setting a large plate filled with chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk in front of him.

Jake's eyes widened. Did she expect him to eat all of them? "Thanks Rita." He smiled and plucked one off the top. It was very warm and the chocolate was still melted. He'd never had homemade cookies before. Well, he'd had some from a bakery once, but never made just for him. It practically melted in his mouth and it was so good! "These are great, Rita," he said around the mouthful of his third one.

"Eat as many as you like, baby." Rita stood and scratched her claws through his hair. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"What?" Jake asked.

"You need a haircut. What is Chance thinking letting your hair get like this?" Rita fluffed it a bit, noting how it was starting to curl around the tips. "Why don't you save some of those to take home with you?"

* * *

Chance sat the basket of clothes on Jake's bed and sighed. He hadn't had much work in the shop and Callie had already gone. She had to be in the office regardless of if there were forms to sign and speeches to write. It was nearing four and Chance had spent his free time doing what was supposed to be Jake's job. He looked at the time again and was just about to call his mom and ask where the heck she was when he heard her old station wagon outside. He scowled a bit when he looked out the window and saw her directing Jake to get some shopping bags out of the backseat.

"I didn't send him over to your house so you could stuff him full of junk food and buy him things." Chance said with a quiet growl.

"Oh come off it, Chance." Rita sighed, setting the plastic container of cookies on the counter. "Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on him? You know, you did a lot worse than that when you were his age. I recall someone nearly getting expelled because he picked one too many fights? And don't get me started on playing hooky." Rita glared up at her son, poking him in the chest with one of her fingers. "If you're worried about Susan, then don't. We've been friends a long time. Jake isn't going anywhere with her."

Chance's ears flattened. "I'm not..." He sighed. In truth, he was a bit worried. "It was still supposed to be a punishment."

"And he did clean my basement." Rita folded her arms across her chest. "He did a wonderful job. But, he's the closest I have right now to a grand-kitten and I'll be damned if I'm not going to spoil him just a little. Besides, he needed some new clothes. And, for God sakes Chance, it wouldn't kill you to get his hair cut every couple of months."

Chance blinked at the tone she was using. "But I..."

"No excuses." Rita clicked her tongue at her son. "I need to go. Lighten up a bit, Chance. He's fourteen. Let him enjoy it." She picked up her purse and looked around the corner of the kitchen. Smirking a bit when she saw Jake leaning against the wall, chewing on one of his claws while he listened to the conversation. "Bye Jake."

His head snapped up at having been caught. "Um.. bye Rita. Thanks for, you know, the cookies and stuff."

"Think nothing of it, sugar." Rita smiled and turned on her heel and left.

Chance glared at Jake for a moment before shaking his head and laughing. "I should have known she wouldn't be nearly as tough on you as she was on me."

Jake gave a hesitant chuckle but refrained from joining in entirely, still feeling a bit like he needed to walk on eggshells.

"Alright," Chance sighed. "Lesson learned."

Jake blinked in surprise. "So I can have my laptop back?"

"I was talking about me." Chance smirked. "Hell no, you aren't getting your computer back. But I know now not to send you over to her house expecting her to put you to work." He shook his head.

Jake's face fell a bit and he rolled his eyes as he turned to go back to his room to finish putting away his new clothes.

"Hey! When you get done with that..." Chance grinned as Jake turned around. "You can clean out the attic."

"Come on, Chance. I've already spent most of the day covered in dust." Jake complained.

Chance shrugged and looked out the window to see a car pulling in, smoke pouring from the engine. "You better get started on it."

Jake glared at the back of Chance's head as he left. "This is bullshit." He said to himself when he was alone. "Total bullshit."

* * *

Chance was in the middle of explaining to the aging tom that his radiator had sprung a leak and the engine over heated when he heard a girlish scream and a loud crash from upstairs. "I'll be right back." He said with a strained smile before running up the stairs to see what the hell Jake was doing. The tabby paused in the hallway, not really believing what he was seeing. Jake was pressed up against the wall, eyes squeezed shut and bordering on hyperventilating, a box of pretty realistic looking rubber snakes on the floor nearby. "You gotta be kidding me." Chance sighed and dropped to his knees near the boy. "Jake," he put a paw on one of the teen's trembling shoulders. "Look at me."

Timidly, Jake cracked open one of his amber eyes. It was glassy with fear.

"They're fake, Jake." Chance plucked up a green and black one. "See? Rubber."

Jake shook his head. "I heard hissing," he managed to get out.

Chance inhaled deeply and inspected the box. Nothing but fake snakes and not one of them making any kind of sound. "You sure you didn't imagine it?"

Jake shook his head forcefully.

Chance rolled his eyes and climbed the ladder leading to the attic filled with junk that wasn't theirs. Sure enough, he heard a hissing sound near his head. Slowly turning, he frowned and held out a paw towards the air rushing out through a crack in the vent. "Kid," he sighed and dropped back down to the floor. "There's no snakes. It's the vent. Besides, it's too cold up there for them. Maybe if it was in the summer..." He trailed off and held out a paw to pull Jake to his feet. "One of these days you're gonna have to tell me what has you so terrified of snakes. Especially with Dr. Viper already out of hibernation."

Jake ducked his head sheepishly. "Who the hell keeps a box of rubber snakes in the attic anyway?"

Chance snorted. "Good question." He gave Jake a good once over. "You alright?"  
Jake nodded tensely.

"Good." Chance shook his head. "I'm going back to work."

With one last car fixed and gone, Chance took a shower and changed out of his greasy clothes. When he stepped into his bedroom, something blue and shiny caught his attention from his dresser. "Whoa," he whispered in awe, picking it up gently. It was resting on the old faded box it had come in. "Jake!" He heard something slam before the teen's bedroom door swung open. Why was that boy so jumpy?

"Y-yeah?" He croaked out.

"You did this?" Chance held up the model plan.

"Er.." Jake bit his lip, unsure if his guardian's tone was one of anger or surprise. He suddenly wondered if maybe it had been worth more left in the box and never assembled. "Chance I'm sorry. I didn't think that maybe you left it in the box on purpose."

Chance blinked at Jake. "What are you talking about?" He tilted it. "You painted it and everything. It looks great."  
"Really?" Jake relaxed a bit. "Thanks."

"How long did it take you?" Chance asked, thinking that maybe his mom's basement wasn't as cluttered as he'd thought.

Jake shrugged. "Maybe an hour. And then a few more for the paint to dry."

"That's it?" Chance frowned. "It used to take me days to put these things together."

Jake smirked but didn't say anything.

Chance pointed the small plane at Jake. "I'm putting this in the living room on one of the shelves. What do you want for dinner?"

Jake shrugged. "I dunno. I'm really not that hungry."

Chance frowned again. "That wouldn't have anything to do with eating a dozen cookies by yourself, would it?"

Jake shrugged again and attempted to look innocent.

* * *

Miranda Steele was waiting for Jake Clawson when he returned to school. "Are you trying to get expelled?"

Jake chuckled. "Not really." He gave her a small shove. "Did'ja miss me?"

Miranda made a snorting sound and rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease." She pointed at Trevor, leaning against a set of lockers. "But I think he and his body guard did."

Jake let his head loll backwards. "Oh come on. Cut me some slack."  
"Furlong." Trevor snarled as he approached. "I had a funny little conversation with the principal this morning."

Jake looked around for Andrew. "Where's your backup?"

"Still suspended. You ratted him out for putting that blade to your throat?"

Jake shook his head. "Nope."

"Bullshit." Trevor hissed. A loud throat clearing caught their attention and the freshman principal glared at the bully.

"You're so lucky right now, it ain't even funny." Trevor hissed, shoving Jake away and hurrying off.

Jake let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and made a mental note to ask Chance when exactly he'd had the time to talk to his school about that little incident. "You seen Suri?"

Miranda huffed. "No." She looked around. "But Valentine's Day is coming up soon. You might consider getting her something."

Jake blinked in surprise. "Miranda." He gave an over dramatic gasp. "And all this time I was positive you wanted her to hate me."

She blushed and glared at Jake. "Cut me some slack. Okay?"

"Sorry." Jake shoved his paws into his pockets, giving her a sly smile. "You know. You're really not so bad."

"Wish I could say the same about you." Miranda grinned and walked away.

"What were you two talking about?" Suri whispered in Jake's ear, startling him a bit.

"Nothing really." Jake looked up at Suri, his mouth dropping a little as he reached a paw up to touch her short light blond hair. "They're gone."

"Yeah." She inhaled sharply. "What do you think?" Suri shook her head to toss the light locks.

Jake waited for her to stop moving before dragging a paw through the soft hair. It felt so silky between his claws. She blushed and looked down. "I'll take that as a... er... thumbs up." Suri backed away a bit. "I have to go."

"Huh?" Jake looked down and blushed. "Crud." Someone whistled and there was a chorus of laughter from some nearby students. He let his backpack slide from off his shoulder, holding it in front of him until he got to his class and the safety of his desk. He felt something crunch as he leaned back in his seat and pulled a piece of paper off his back. "Awesome," he thought as he looked at the crude drawing of a penis with the word "BONER" written in bright red marker on it.

* * *

"What's buggin ya, kiddo?" Chance asked, seeing Jake with his feet propped up on the desk in the office and an intense look on his face while he held a pencil between his teeth.

"Huh?" Jake looked up, clearly distracted.

"You're gonna mess up your braces." Chance nagged.

"Oh." Jake pulled the writing utensil from his mouth.

"Trouble with your homework?" Chance asked, lifting his head to try and peek at Jake's work.

"No." Jake pulled the notebook up so Chance couldn't see the random sketching he'd been doing instead of the overly simple geometry work. "And if I was, would you _really_ be qualified to help me?"

Chance rolled his eyes. "For the record, I was pretty good at math."

"And how long ago was this?" Jake teased.

"Seriously." Chance sighed. "What's with the deep look?"

"Okay... so... Valentine's Day is coming up and Miranda said that I should get Suri something."

Chance grinned widely. "Interesting."

"What are you getting Callie?" Jake asked.

"Nothing you should even think about getting Suri." Chance glared. "I mean, you two have gone to, what? One movie?" He shook his head. "Some flowers or some candy. Maybe a nice card or something."

"Right." Jake sighed. He tapped his notebook with his pencil and was about to slip back into deep thought when the Swat Kat alarm went off, startling both of them.

* * *

Rita Furlong had just set her purse down on the table and started to relax when her cell phone rang. The caller ID said "Chance" and it was the house number. "Yes, baby?" She asked.

"Rita." Jake's voice sounded as close to terrified as she'd ever heard it.

"What's wrong?" Rita was on her feet again and grabbing her purse.

"I... I need your help. It's Chance..." Jake must have been shaking because there was a vibrato in his voice that made it almost impossible to decipher what he was saying. "He's really hurt."

"Call an ambulance, Jake. I'm on my way." Rita said as she went out to her car.

"I can't." Jake replied. "Chance told me to call you. You'll see when you get here. I have to go."

Rita blinked in surprise as she was hung up on. She drove faster than she had since she was in a young she-kat and made it to the salvage yard in record time. Before she could get out to let Jake know she was there, the gates slid open for her. She rushed inside to be greeted immediately but a still shaking and blood splattered teenager. "Rita," he forced out. "You're going to be really, _really_ pissed off." Jake said as he pulled her towards the office and through the hidden doorway.


	27. Snake In The Grass

"Of all the absurdly stupid things you could possible come up with..." Rita puffed out angrily while she stitched up the large gash in Chance's shoulder. "You're lucky none of the muscles were torn." She pulled a syringe from her bag.

"What's that for?" Chance asked, worried.

"It's a Tetanus shot." Rita glared. "Who knows what that... that... robot thing... could have had on it."

Chance bit back the growl of pain as the needle was less than kindly stuck into his arm.

"And you!" She glared at Jake. "I can't believe you talked him into this!"

Jake looked down at his feet, his tail swishing nervously between his legs.

Rita shook her head. "If the city didn't need the Swat Kats so badly..."  
Jake looked up as her voice broke.

"You could have come to me from the beginning! Who the hell else were you going to turn to if you got hurt?" Rita gushed, sobbing loudly.

"Mom." Chance put a comforting paw on her. "We really wanted to let someone else in on it. Really, but we didn't want anyone to connect you to us and you get hurt."  
Rita forcefully pushed her son away. "I... I just... give me some time to let all this sink in."

Jake gave Chance a wounded look as she stormed up the steps and out of the hangar. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"You know..." Chance chuckled. "If it wasn't for the fact that we've already been the only ones able to save this city on more than one occasion, I would have agreed with you. But we've already done too much to stop now."

Jake nodded his head and looked down at his paws and clothes, still covered in Chance's blood.

"It's really late." Chance said suddenly. "Go... go take a shower or something."  
Jake gave his friend and guardian one last worried look before hurrying upstairs.

Jake shucked his pants and dropped onto his bed. He made a halfhearted attempt to pull the blanket over himself before falling asleep. In the back of his mind something nagged him about homework and there was another passing thought about Valentine's Day before his dreams took over. With the sheet clenched between his fingers, he dreamed of Suri's hair and how it would feel to pull it gently in an effort to lower her head into a deep, probing kiss. She was saying something and stroking the straining part of his jeans. He breathed deeper and faster, unable to really listen or try to make out what she was saying. Slowly, her voice became more audible. At first it was like a dull hum. Then a distant whisper. Then...

"Is that a snake?"

"Huh?" Jake shook his head to clear the fog. She raised her arms and they wiggled and hissed, opening their mouths widely and exposing their venom filled fangs. He stumbled backwards with a startled yelp and woke up on the floor. Before he could compose himself, the door swung open and Chance flipped on the light, a baseball bat in one paw, a determined look on his face and wearing nothing but his boxers. He looked around, looking for an intruder before settling his gaze on the panting teen on his knees on the floor. "You alright?"

Jake shot Chance a bewildered look before slowly nodding his head. The tabby held out a paw and it wasn't until he was on his feet that he realized his boxers felt uncomfortably sticky on the inside. Blush rose to his cheeks and he hoped it wasn't obvious as he turned his head to look at the time. It was nearly five in the morning. Had he really been asleep for three hours? Chance was saying something to him.

"Huh?" Jake asked, realizing he'd drifted off into his thoughts.

"I said there's clean sheets in the dryer." Chance nodded his head at the small but obvious stain on the dark colored sheets, choosing to look at that instead of the much more obvious one on the teen's underpants.

Jake squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will himself into invisibility. He mumbled something about taking a shower and pushed passed his guardian. Chance waited until he heard the bathroom door slam shut to let out the slightly awkward chuckle. He'd forgotten more about how being a teen sucked than Jake had yet to experience.

* * *

Jake slipped into his fourth period class just in time for Mr. Spieker to tell them that there was a presentation in the auditorium. They wouldn't be having class today. He groaned and dropped his backpack near where he normally sat and started out.

"Um, Jacob." Mr. Spieker stopped him. "Can I have a word with you before you go?"  
Jake nodded. "Sure."

"The honors quartet is performing at an awards banquet in a month, and it would be lovely to have a piano accompaniment. Suri tells me you're quite talented, and I've had the pleasure of hearing you play a few times. Would you be willing to participate?"

Jake bit his lip, exposing his top row of braces. "Uh... sure. I guess so."

"Great." Mr. Spieker smiled. "I'll have your music put together by tomorrow so you can start practicing. Do you have a piano at home?"

Jake shook his head.

"No matter. You can practice here after class."

"Great." Jake feigned enthusiasm and made a mental note to thank Suri.

"Now hurry so you can find a seat." He ushered Jake out the door.

* * *

"So why are we wasting valuable classroom time?" Jake whispered as he found his friends holding a seat form him near the front of the stage.

"It's mostly for the science classes," Miranda whispered in his ear. "Some reptile handler."

Jake frowned. "You're kidding me?"

"What's wrong?" She noticed him pale slightly in the dim lighting.

"He's afraid of snakes." Jason smirked.

Jake leaned forward to give Suri a pleading look but she wasn't there. "Where's Suri?"

Miranda sighed loudly. "I don't know. Maybe she's involved in the presentation."

Jake was unmoving throughout most of the presentation, not even applauding when they were supposed to as the soft spoken tom demonstrated different kinds of reptiles on stage. His stomach dropped as they neared the end and he said he needed a volunteer. "Who here is afraid of snakes?"

Jake's eyes widened when Miranda grabbed one of his arms and Jason grabbed the other. The tom on stage probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Jake trying to squirm out of their grasp.

"You there!" He pointed at Jake. "Come on up."

Jake shot his friends a hateful look.

"Come on." He said. "Most kats with a fear of snakes are more afraid of being bitten and dying than they are of the actual snake itself."

"Not helping," Jake thought as he pushed himself out of the seat. He wondered what would be more embarrassing: bolting or screaming. Neither was an option.

"Don't worry. Neon here isn't poisonous." The tom smiled as he removed an albino Burmese Python from a canvas bag.

Jake gulped as the yellow and white snake coiled around the handler's arm, it's tongue darting in and out frantically. He unconsciously took a step back, much to the enjoyment of his watching peers.

The handler chuckled as well. "The best way to rid oneself of a fear of something is to confront it. Hold out your arm."  
Jake was sure everyone could see him shaking as he slowly stuck out his arm. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and locked his knees as the creature slithered from his owner's arm to his, winding itself around him. Jake drowned out the sound of the handler, feeling the way Neon squeezed him as he worked his way upward until his small yellow head and beady black eyes were less than an inch from his face. Jake's eyes widened and he swore his heart stopped right along with his lungs. He'd only had a panic attack once before. As he struggled to suck in a single breath, he duly noted that this would make two. There was a dull roar in his ears and he couldn't make out what it was. Suddenly, the cold scaly snake was removed from him. Jake realized someone was talking to him and he felt something trickling down his leg. His focus returned to the surroundings and he could easily hear the entire audience laughing riotously. He looked down and found that the warm wetness he felt was because he was peeing his pants. He stared at the growing puddle near his feet, vaguely recalling that he'd meant to make a trip to the boy's room before going to music comp before suddenly feeling very faint. Face flushed with mortification, Jake slowly looked back up before passing out.

* * *

Something was covering his mouth and hissing in his ear and there was a crushing grip on his arm. Jake jerked awake and tried to get away from whatever giant snake was trying to kill him and then eat him only to be steadied by a pair of paramedics. He realized that the thing covering his mouth was an oxygen mask. And the hissing and crushing grip was a blood pressure cuff. Tears pricked his eyes and he squeezed them shut.

"Deep breaths," one of the EMTs coached.

Jake nodded his head weakly, wondering how long he'd been out, if anyone had called Chance, if it was too late to switch schools and change names... again.

"Jake!" Chance's voice broke through the fog still clouding his brain. And it was so filled with worry that it was almost scary.

Jake tried to blink away the tears and swallowed against his abrasively dry throat. "Chance," he croaked out when the tabby reached him.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Chance couldn't believe what he'd heard when the school called him.

"His heart rate is finally slowing down and he's breathing normally." One of the paramedics answered. "There's no reason to take him to the hospital."

"Good." Chance noted how Jake's skin was nearly gray beneath his reddish fur. "You're lookin' kind of pale, kitten."

Jake choked out a laugh, though it sounded a bit more like a sob.

"I was... um... you know... gonna bring you a change of clothes but I figured that the day was pretty much over and you'd probably rather go home."  
Jake nodded stiffly. He'd hoped he'd hallucinated that part.

"You think you can stand up?"

Jake nodded again, not really feeling up to talking, and way too embarrassed to meet his guardian's eyes.

"Come on," Chance gently helped the teen to his feet. Jake was still shaking. "You sure he's alright?"

The paramedics nodded. "Just a little bit of shock."

"Alright." Chance guided Jake towards the SUV. "Where's you stuff?"  
"Music comprehension," Jake whispered.

"Alright." Chance said again. "You just wait here. I'll be right back."

Jake settled into the leather seat and looked down at the huge wet stain down the front of his pants. He closed his eyes and let his head thunk back against the headrest. "Idiot," he said to himself.

* * *

Chance eased his shirt off and groaned as the stitched up wound throbbed beneath the bandaging. He rubbed it lightly, trying to will away the pain as he walked down the hall towards Jake's room. The door was slightly open and he could easily spot the teen with a rubber band stretched out into a sling shot and some small object ready to become a projectile glinted in the incandescent light. There was a soft 'snap' followed by a 'thunk' and Chance pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Nice," he frowned at the array of homemade miniature ninja stars stuck into a crudely drawn target on the wall.

"Thanks." Jake grumbled.

"You done sulking over this?" Chance smirked, sitting on the bed.

"Hardly. I'm not exactly going to hear the end of this any time soon." Jake glared.

"Shit happens." Chance shrugged. "Now _that_ would have been way worse."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Yeah. It would have. But this is still pretty bad."

Chance sighed, noticing a balled up piece of paper in Jake's open bag. He pulled it out and straightened it. "Not your usual level of artistry." He held up the paper.

Jake huffed and jerked it out of Chance's paws, crumpling it up and tossing it at the waste basket. It missed. Jake glared at it, wishing he could set it on fire. "You know, I'd rather face Dark Kat every single day than do this, right?"

Chance laughed. "Yeah. Almost seems like the lesser of two evils, huh?"

Jake shook his head. "You have no idea."

"Look, chances are, you're gonna get hell for a few weeks... maybe a few months but eventually someone else is going to do something like that or worse and everyone will forget about the boy that peed his pants and passed out on stage." Chance patted Jake on the arm.

"Considering that the entire freshmen class was present, that's going to have to be something pretty monumental." Jake frowned.

"Yeah." Chance chuckled. "You really gotta work on that fear of snakes, kiddo."

Jake glared but said nothing.

"Okay." Chance sighed. "How about we go out so you can find Suri a gift? We can just grab some Chinese at the mall or something for dinner."

Jake looked thoughtful. At the moment, he was all for never showing his face in public again. But he doubted that was a good enough excuse. He shook his head and wondered if next year would be so bad. "Alright."

"Good." Chance grinned. "Grab your coat."

* * *

"I heard that assembly sucked." Suri said. "Somebody said some boy peed his pants on stage when they made him hold the snake."

Jake's ears flattened. "Yeah. I heard that too." He opened his locker and jerked backwards as a mix of toy snakes and water balloons fell out. A group of kits behind him erupted into a loud bout of laughter.

"Jake," Suri lowered her head a little bit. "That was you?"

Jake blushed. "Yeah but... in my defense. I'm really scared of snakes. And Miranda and Jason forced me to do it."

Suri shook her head. "Jake," she sighed and then laughed. "I don't even know what to say."

Jake visibly sagged. "I really suck at this whole normal thing."

"Yeah but," she shrugged. "I kind of like it." Suri paused before they parted their separate ways for first period. "So when should I expect you to join us after school for rehearsal for that awards ceremony?"

"Today." Jake replied. "See you in History."

"Yeah." Suri sighed and went left while Jake started to go right. He paused when he spotted Jason lingering near a doorway. "So you're gonna have to let me in on what scares the shit out of you so I can get you and Miranda back for volunteering me yesterday."

Jason, who'd been trying to hold back his laughter, laughed loudly. "I swear... when you started pissing yourself on stage..." He gasped for breath, clutching his abdomen and nearly doubling over. "Dude... you were... you were like..."

Jake sucked in one of his cheeks until the brackets on his teeth dug painfully into the flesh to keep from yelling at his friend that it wasn't that funny.

"I mean... the whole time this tom was talking about how pythons strangle their pray... and there you were... I mean you were shaking Jake... seriously." Jason cleared his throat in an attempt to sober up.

"Are you done laughing at my humiliation?" Jake glared.

"No." Jason's face was red and his voice was a bit strained as if he was on the verge of another one of his asthma attacks. "Not by a long shot. And you know what the best part is?"

Jake sighed. "What?"

"That even though it was just the freshman class in the auditorium, the rest of the school was watching from their classrooms." Jason managed to get it out before dissolving into another bout of laughter.

Jake's face fell. "No."

Jason nodded. "Oh yeah."

Jake felt deflated. The bell shrilled loudly and he left his friend to hurry to his math class. He slipped into the classroom just as the tardy bell rang. Several students snickered and whispered as Jake walked by. He tried not to make eye contact with any of his peers as he dropped into his seat. Something popped loudly and he felt something cold and wet soaking into his jeans. Jake squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the sound of water dripping onto the floor and laughter.

"Mr. Furlong, do you need to be excused?"

Jake's cheeks burned beneath his fur. He shot Mr. Snow a scathing look as he stood up slowly and walked to the front of the room. Jason had advised him to keep an extra set of clothes in his locker some time ago.

* * *

Chance narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he pulled the tow truck in front of the dark sedan with tinted windows. It certainly didn't look like anything was wrong with it. Still, he couldn't turn down an irritated old she-kat on the phone. He got out of the truck and walked along the side of the road to speak with the driver. When the doors opened and a pair of dark suited toms got out, he cursed himself for not trusting his gut on this.

"Chance Furlong," one of the approached him and pulled out a gun from a holster hidden under his jacket. "We're gonna need you to come with us."

Chance tightened his paws into fists and let out a sigh. Sure he could probably take them, but he wasn't armed and the risk was too high. He let out a defeated sigh and held up his paws in defense as he got into the car.

* * *

Jake let his claws rest on the keys after playing the final notes. He looked over at the quartet with an accomplished smile. They were so good!

"Alright," Mr. Spieker said. "That was wonderful. You guys are doing great." He beamed at his group of honors students. "I will see all of you tomorrow after school."

Jake stood up and pulled together his sheet music. He slipped it into the folder and into his book bag before standing around awkwardly while he waited for Suri to pack up her Viola into its case. "So... um..." He fumbled for something to say. "Maybe we can try that movie thing again next weekend?"

Suri pulled on her backpack and lifted her case. "I need to see." She started towards the exit with Jake on her heels. "My dad is a little bit protective since... you know..."

"Oh." Jake looked embarrassed. "Right. That's completely understandable." He followed her out the door and frowned. He didn't see Chance. "That's weird." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Chance's number. No answer. A car horn honked.

"That's my ride." Suri said.

"Oh. Ok I'll see you tomorrow." Jake watched her go, his eyes lighting on a black sedan with tinted windows. A chill darted up his spine. He waited for Suri to leave before approaching the car. As he neared, a suited kat got out and held open the back door.

"I advise you to get in, Clawson." He purred menacingly. "That is, if you want to see your friend Chance again."

Jake's eyes widened and he quickly got into the car.

The teen didn't recall losing consciousness. But as he struggled to clear his vision and move his stiff arms, he accepted that he must have because he couldn't account for the time lapse between getting into the car and waking up in a hard chair with his arms tied behind his back. There was screen mounted on the wall in front of him and a camera above it angled at him. "Chance!" He gasped when he recognized his guardian in the image on the screen. The tabby lifted his head. "He must be able to see me too," Jake thought.

"Just do what they ask, Jake," Chance's voice came from speakers somewhere behind him. "They won't hurt you."

"I don't know where the laptops are, Chance." Jake sighed. "You hid them. Remember?"

"I told them that." Chance replied. "They think I'm covering for you."

"Then why don't you just let them have 'em?" Jake asked, worried that they would hurt Chance... or worse.

"I..." Chance abruptly stopped when the door to his room opened.

Jake jerked his head around when the one behind him opened as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn enough to see who it was. As if their captors had practiced, he felt the cold barrel of a gun against his temple in the exact moment that Chance had one placed against his.

"Alright, kitten." A firm masculine voice growled into his ear. "You're going to tell me where those computers are or my friend in there is gonna blow Furlong's head clean off his shoulders."  
Jake let out an impatient breath. "I don't know where they are."

"Now, I have a hard time believing that since you were so willing to bring them to our boss the last time." His captor replied, pressing his gun harder against Jake's head.

"Seriously." Jake resisted the urge to pull away. "Chance grounded me and took them. I have no idea where he hid them."  
"Seems like you're telling the truth then." Jake heard from somewhere behind his head. "Now it's your turn. Tell us where they are or the kit gets it."

Jake felt panic rise up in his chest as the gun clicked in his ear. "Just tell 'em Chance!" He shouted, fearing that they would shoot Chance anyway.

"Shut him up!" Chance's interrogator barked.

"No problem."

Jake wasn't prepared at all for the heavy fist that lobbed into his cheek. He felt the inner flesh tear against his braces. Something snapped painfully and he tasted blood as it left his mouth in a spray as his head was jerked around from the force of the hit.

"ENOUGH!" Chance snarled. "You let us both go and you leave Jake alone and I'll give you the fucking computers!"

* * *

Jake was surprised to learn that his cell phone was still in his pocket once he was untied and forced back into the car. As covertly as he could, he removed it and dialed the direct line to Commander Feral, leaving it open for the commander to hear the conversation. "How do we know you're going to keep your end of the bargain?" Jake asked once he was sure he'd heard someone pick up. "You could get what you want and kill me and Chance." Either way, he knew they weren't getting what they wanted. He'd made sure of that after Suri's mom was killed.

"You just shut your mouth and keep quiet." One of the kats in suits hissed. "And we'll think about letting you live."

Chance congratulated himself on not storing the computers in the hangar. That would have just made things worse. No. He'd figured Jake would go looking for them and that would be the first place he'd look. Instead, he'd hidden them in a panel in his closet. He retrieved the two computers and returned to find the two assailants with their guns pointed at Jake, who was sitting rigidly on the waiting room couch.

"Turn 'em on." One said.

Jake felt his blood run cold. He'd hoped they would wait until they left to turn them on.

Chance, unknowing of Jake's work, quickly pressed the power buttons on each and stood back. The screens went through the necessary start up procedures and then stopped on a black screen with the words "Operating System Not Found" on each.

"What the hell is this?" The other hissed at Jake, grinding his gun painfully into the teen's head.

"I wiped them both clean." Jake ground out, his mouth throbbing with pain and his body trembling. "I ghosted them. It's all gone."

"Why the hell would you do something so stupid?" The butt of the gun hit him in the face.

"I figured..." Jake spat out a glob of blood. "That if the work was destroyed, then no one could have it. Not even me." He flinched as a gun went off, for a moment thinking he'd been shot. But as the ringing in his ears faded, he realized Chance was on the floor, gripping his knee and swearing like a sailor.

"Chance!" Jake started to get up only to be pushed back down onto the couch.

"I'm going to enjoy taking you out, just like I enjoyed taking out your mother. And your jackass of a father."

Jake felt his breath catch in his chest as both guns were leveled at him. Tears pooled in his amber eyes and he slowly looked up at the one that had just spoken in his ear. "You killed my mom?"

"That's right." He chuckled. "She was so unsuspecting as she drove along, trying not to cry while her _adorable_ little kitten sat in the backseat, trying to figure out what was wrong. I gotta tell ya, I almost got off at the way her blood splattered all over the window before she lost control of the car. It really is a shame that you were lucky enough to get by with only a few scratches."

Chance watched, feeling almost paralyzed as Jake launched himself out of his seat. The teen quickly took out them both, kicking one of the guns towards Chance and leveling the other at the tom that had so happily talked of killing his mother. All he could think of was how many times he'd woken up in a cold sweat after reliving her death in every one of his cruelest nightmares. There was a low buzzing in his ear that he didn't care to make sense of. Here he was, staring down a murderer, someone that deserved to die more than anyone else in the entire world. Jake could feel the trigger under his finger and he wanted nothing more than to press down. Then, just as suddenly as he'd wanted to kill him, Jake realized he couldn't do it. That he wasn't a killer. And then Chance was pulling the gun from his paws and saying something. The muffled sounds of everything around him cleared, and Jake realized that the Enforcers were there, along with Commander Feral. He was saying something into his radio about needing an ambulance.

* * *

Thankfully, it hadn't been Chance's driving leg that had been shot although he'd had to call his mother for a ride home. Still, a bullet to the knee wasn't anything to play around with. He looked at the time as he cradled the phone between his shoulder and his head while he waited for the receptionist at the orthodontist to take him off hold. He hobbled towards the living room to give Jake the sandwich bag full of ice he'd been putting together. The teen, who'd been eerily quiet since yesterday afternoon, took it silently and pressed it against his cheek. Finally someone chirped an excited 'good morning' in his ear.

"Yeah, my son got hit in the face yesterday evening and his braces got all kinds of messed up."

Jake shot a look towards the kitchen, his eyes tearing up again. He felt like such a kitten. He wasn't even the one that got shot, but all he really wanted to do was cry. He had his mother's killer right there. He could have taken him out, given him the same kind of pain. But he wussed out. Suddenly Chance was in front of him, sitting on the coffee table, his blue eyes full of concern.

"You ready to go get your face fixed, kiddo?" Chance asked, voice dripping with sympathy.

Jake pushed himself up off the couch and went to grab his jacket. He would miss all of first and second period.

* * *

Suri gave him a curious look when he walked into History just as the bell was ringing. It was easy to see the swelling in his face and he looked like he hadn't slept in a month. Immediately she scribbled out a small note and passed it to him.

_What's wrong?_ It asked. Jake furrowed his brow. What wasn't wrong? He felt his eyes water and immediately raised his paw.

Mr. Culberth shot him an irritated look. "Yes Furlong."

"Can I be excused?" Jake asked, wincing at how he was back to lisping for the moment.

The former Enforcer looked as if he might say no, but then he sighed and pointed at the hall pass hanging near the door.

Jake walked all the way to the other side of school, to the bathroom where Jason could usually be found hiding until lunch. The restroom was empty however. Jake let out a disappointed sigh and leaned against the wall. Just as he was about to leave, the door opened and Jason's black furred, bespectacled head peeked in. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he entered and slid the trashcan to block the door.

"I was looking for you." Jake replied in a near whisper.

"You see the news?" Jason asked.

Jake shook his head.

"My dad got arrested. So did a whole bunch of Enforcers." Jason sat his backpack on the sink and pulled open the pocket containing a zipper lock bag and a lighter. "That have anything to do with your face and why you weren't here this morning?"

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. "I almost killed someone yesterday."

Jason paused, an intrigued look on his face. "Seriously?"  
Jake nodded slowly.

"Anyone I know?"

"One of those kats that got arrested yesterday." Jake replied, assuming that they were in fact the ones the news had mentioned. He slid down until he was sitting on the dirty floor. "It was the kat that killed my mom."

Unsure of what to do when he saw the tears rolling down his friend's cheeks, Jason quickly lit up one of the joints, took a long hit and passed it to Jake. "Don't come apart on me, kat. I can't handle it."

Jake eyed the drug with something akin to hatred. Still, Jason was right, he didn't need to fall apart at school.

* * *

Suri paced around outside the cafeteria until she saw Jake walking slowly in her direction. "What is wrong with you?" She hissed. "You can't afford to get detention! That will cut into rehearsal time!"

Jake stared blankly at her for a second before shaking his head. "I have something I need to tell you." He took her paw and led her out into the cold February afternoon.

"What is it?" Suri asked impatiently, trying not to look at his glazed bloodshot eyes.

"I killed your mom."

She blinked. "Wh-what?"

"I mean, I didn't, you know, rig up the explosives or anything but it's still my fault she's dead." Jake could hear how cold he sounded and he hated it but he was just too numb to find a suitable emotion. "These kats were after my dad's work. They killed him for it but couldn't get it. So they went after me. They set up bombs at my home, at Chance's mom's work, on me.. and one in your hotel. If I didn't give them what they wanted they were going to detonate everything."

"So what?" Suri asked, feeling as if she'd been slapped. "You figured you'd test them and see if they were bluffing?"

Jake shook his head. "No." He looked down at his feet. "No I gave them what they wanted. Chance was able to deactivate the ones at home and his mom's before... but they hit the switch anyway. I was supposed to watch everyone die and then they were gonna kill me. But it got kind of... botched."

Suri felt her blood boil with hatred. "So that's it? This whole time you've just been feeling guilty for getting my mom killed?" She shook her head. "I liked you, Jake." Tears pooled in her eyes and she stormed off.

Jake watched her go, feeling like his whole body had been injected with Novocain. He leaned against one of the pillars and closed his eyes. "You should tell her," he recalled Jason saying in the bathroom. "Get it off your chest."

* * *

**_more torture. yay._**


	28. Off The Clock

_**Things heat up. The ending to this chapter is gonna blow your minds. **_

* * *

Jake stood by Suri's locker, waiting for what seemed like ages for her to show up. He unconsciously hugged the red and pink bear with hearts stitched on its belly. He hadn't seen her in days. She wasn't returning his calls. As he was about to try and figure out the combination to her locker, he saw Mrs. Catsby and Mr. Thompkins approaching, along with Kojo... Suri's father.

"This is her locker," Mrs. Catsby said, looking down at a notebook. "We have the combination right here."

"Mr. Tier." Jake said a bit timidly. "Is Suri alright?"

He shot Jake a hateful look. "Suri will not be returning to this school."

"Why?" Jake couldn't help but look hurt.

"_Why?_" Kojo balked. "I'm afraid that's none of your business, Jacob."

"But I..."

"I'm sorry." He said with finality.

"Could you give this to her?" Jake asked, holding out the stuffed bear and a card.

Kojo eyed the gifts and sighed. "Suri told me what you said, about Sekai." He frowned deeply. "She is quite content to never hear from you again."  
Jake felt stricken. He watched with his mouth hanging open while Suri's father emptied her locker and left.

"Great job, Jake." Miranda seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "What a way to scare her off. What'd you do anyway?"  
Jake bit down hard on the inside of his cheek and shoved the bear into Miranda's arms. "Here," he puffed out. "Happy Valentine's day."

She blinked in surprise as he darted off and then looked down at the bear. "Aw. It's so cute!" She gushed. "Oh well. Suri's loss is my gain." She started to toss the card into the trash when she realized it felt a bit too heavy to be just paper. Miranda tucked the bear under her arm and opened it. Ignoring what the card said, she opened it to find a delicate silver chain with a double-eighth note on it. She made a clicking sound with her tongue as she put it on.

Jake dragged through his day in an uninterested daze. He felt absolutely numb and unbelievably tired. Suri was gone, he kept repeating inside his head. And it was his fault. Geometry passed like breathing: completed with out any thought but the knowledge that it happened. In German, he leaned on one arm while he lazily drew a garish stick figure in a suit lying in a pool of blood. Mrs. Shuman was going on about how to say "Where is the library" in German and Trevor was pelting hornets made out of paperclips at the back of his head. He ignored both, oblivious and distant. Finally, the bell rang and he moved on to History, giving a passing thought to joining Jason in the bathroom but not finding any real urge to do so. He dragged himself to Mr. Culberth's quiet classroom and dropped into his seat, once again in front of Trevor.

"What the hell is your problem?" Trevor hissed in his ear halfway through the first part of the class.

Jake ignored it.

"Hey," he whispered and thumped his ear hard.

Jake rolled his eyes and turned his head just enough for the bully to know he'd been acknowledged. "What?"

"What's wrong with you? You're like a fucking zombie. How am I supposed to torment you if you just sit there and take it?" Trevor seemed genuinely bothered by the fact that Jake didn't care that he was being antagonized.

"Not my problem." Jake replied sans feeling and returned his lack of focus to the board. Mr. Culberth said something about a quiz after lunch and then began handing out forms for a field trip to the museum.

At lunch, Jake continued his 'zombie' like actions. He obediently stood in the lunch line until he received his food. Without thinking, he handed the tray to Trevor as he passed. Andrew glowered at the teen as if he'd just been mocked.

"Ah save it, Drew." Trevor shoved a few fries into his mouth. "Twerp's a nut case anyway."

Jake paused for a moment when he'd heard the insult. He pondered it for a few seconds before going outside into the cold, giving a passing glance to Miranda, who was showing off the gifts she'd been given. He sat on the steps in the frigid gray afternoon without a jacket, staring at the passing traffic until the bell rang.

Jake slipped back into his desk and waited for the imminent quiz. Soon enough, Mr. Culberth delivered on his promise. For the first time, Jake wasn't sure if he actually passed or not. In fact, he was positive he'd failed and, oddly enough, he didn't care one way or another if he did.

Even Music Comprehension held little interest for him. He stuck around for rehearsal only because Chance said he'd pick him up at 4:30 when it was over. It was hard to focus knowing Suri wasn't in her spot, and everyone seemed to falter because of it.

"I have someone that will take her place," Mr. Spieker told the trio and Jake. "Unfortunately he couldn't make it on such short notice. But he's been practicing Suri's part in case she wasn't able to perform."

Jake duly noted this new information in the back of his mind as he packed up his music. He could sense that director wanted to speak to him, but the teen made it a point to be out the door before anyone else. The black SUV he'd inherited waited for him, looking like a funeral car on the dismal day. Jake opened the back door, tossed his bag in carelessly and climbed up front.

"So how'd she like the bear?" Chance asked, eager to hear how the gift had gone over.

"Miranda loved it." Jake replied in the quiet, bored tone he'd been using since that day his guardian had been shot.

"Miranda?" Chance frowned. "What about...?"

"Suri's gone." Jake whispered. "She won't be coming back."

Chance hesitated a moment before reaching out to squeeze Jake's shoulder. "It'll be alright, kiddo."

Jake resumed his silence. He watched as Chance turned left instead of right out of the school, vaguely remembering that he had an appointment with Charlotte today. "Great," he thought.

* * *

Jake was back on autopilot as he got out of the car and followed sluggishly behind Chance up the sidewalk to the hospital. He wondered if Dr. Treuse had any other patients at all because, once again, the waiting area was empty.

Chance eyed the teen's poor posture and uninterested expression worriedly. He could easily understand Jake being upset over coming face to face with the tom that had been given the task of taking out his parents, and losing a girlfriend was never easy... especially your first one. Finally Charlotte came out of her office. Jake stood up before she could invite him in and casually walked into her office, dropping down tiredly onto her couch. She shot Chance a questioning look before turning to Jake, shutting the door as the tabby walked in. "How are you today, Jake? You don't appear to be as wound up as you were the last time I saw you."

Jake shrugged and looked past her at a bouquet of flowers on her desk. A gift from a husband? Friend? He didn't really care.

"It's been a rough couple of days." Supplied Chance.

"Oh?" Charlotte turned her attention to the tabby.

"Yeah," Chance said while exhaling. "I think this whole thing with this Felino kat finally came to a head."

"I saw on the news that he was arrested." She replied.

"Right." Chance really felt like Jake was the one that needed to talk about it but talking wasn't something he seemed keen on doing. "Well they went after me and Jake." He pointed at his knee and then the crutch he was using. "I got shot. He got beat up pretty bad but he was able to get a hold of the authorities. Jake had some evidence connecting some of the Enforcers to Felino and more than enough to prove that one of the kats that got us was the one that took out his parents."

Charlotte saw the muscles on Jake's face twitch just a bit. "What was that like? Coming face to face with their killer?"

Jake bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. He did not want to have this conversation.

"He almost killed him." Chance pushed. "I can't say I blame him for wanting to. But he didn't."

"Good." Charlotte looked relieved. "You know, it might have seemed like the right thing to do, and I bet you're still wishing you would have but you were the better kat for not pulling the trigger."  
Jake shot Charlotte a dark look. "Am I?" He whispered. "Or is that just what they pay you to say?"

"I beg your pardon?" She blinked at the teen.

"If the roles were reversed, would you have done it?" Jake asked. "If you had the chance to get back at someone for how they hurt you, would you do it?"

"I..."

"You know what?" Jake shook his head. "I'm asking the wrong kat. Of course you wouldn't. I'm sure you would just sit down and rationalize it out like a good therapist and still be able to sleep at night knowing you let a killer go."

Charlotte was a bit surprised at the tone. "You're blaming yourself because your parents died and he gets to live."

"Sure." Jake rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "You can add blaming myself for getting other kats' parents killed too."

"Is that why Suri's leaving your school?" Chance asked.

"Who is Suri?" Charlotte asked.

"This she-kat he liked. He found out today that she's leaving."

"Suri's leaving because I told her why her mom died." Jake ground out.

"And why is that?" Charlotte asked.

"Because the guys that wanted to take me out to get my dad's work decided to put a bomb in her hotel room over the holidays. The news called it a terrorist attack." Jake felt his heart start to race. He stood up.

"Where are you going?" Chance asked.

"To get some air." Jake hissed and left the room.

Chance shook his head. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. Can we just cut it short today?"

She nodded, giving the tabby a sympathetic look. "Try to get him to talk. He seems to be in a very precarious place right now. We don't want him to get stuck in whatever depression he's in right now."

Chance narrowed his eyes. "Depression? You think he's depressed?"

"He's combative, withdrawn... they're definitely signs." Charlotte pointed out. "You don't have to come here just the once every two weeks. If you feel like he's in a place where he needs counseling, call me."

Chance nodded and thanked her before going to search for Jake. He found him waiting for the elevator. "Did you honestly think you could tell Suri something like that and not think that she would be upset?" Chance asked, darting into the elevator after Jake just before the doors closed.

"I don't know what I was thinking." Jake replied, leaning against the wall. "I was just..."

Chance waited for Jake to finish the sentence but it never happened. "You did the right thing."

Jake snorted his disagreement.

"In both instances. I know it was killing you that she lost her mother because of some greedy scientist trying to blackmail you." Chance said as the doors slid open with a ding. "And you're not a killer, no matter the case."

"I should have done something." Jake pushed passed Chance to get off the elevator and stalk towards the door. "He killed my mom. And I just let him walk away."

"He didn't exactly walk away." Chance reminded him. "He's going to be in jail for a long time."

"And that's supposed to feel satisfying? You and I both know how well the justice system in Megakat City works." Jake glared. "He'll be out in a month."

"I highly doubt that." Chance somehow managed not to roll his eyes at the over dramatic statement. "You can't dwell on this. Girls come and go. And this shit with Pumadyne is over. You can live your life now, Jake. You don't have to keep looking over your shoulder. And, who knows. Maybe someday you'll see Suri again and she will have realized that there wasn't anything either of you could have done to prevent this from happening."

"Short of giving them what they wanted in the first place?" Jake replied. "I can't just let this go."

Chance inhaled sharply but said nothing in response as he clicked the unlock button on the remote to the SUV. He and Jake both got in silently, the youth shutting his door with unnecessary force and slumping into the seat.

"Put on your seat belt." Chance said tiredly as he started the car.

"Why? If you hit someone and I get killed then there's less chance of me screwing up someone else's life."

Chance turned his head to stare at Jake for a few long moments. "Put on your damn seat belt."

Jake stared back, silently debating if it was worth picking a fight over before sighing loudly and securing himself.

"You got any homework?" Chance asked.

"I dunno." Jake replied. "Probably."

"How do you not know if you have homework or not?" Chance glared for a second.

Jake simply shrugged.

Chance bit back the frustrated groan. "You're gonna have to lose the attitude before you go over Mom's."

Jake's ears moved from backwards to flat against his head. "Date with Callie?"

"Yep." Chance replied simply.

"Great." Jake breathed. His head was pounding loudly and all he felt like doing was sleeping.

* * *

Rita was waiting for them when Chance pulled up to her house.

"Hey sugar!" She said from her porch as Jake dragged passed her.

"Hey," he whispered unenthusiastically and went inside.

Rita shot him a hurt and surprised look before glaring at Chance. "What's wrong?"

Chance shook his head. "I dunno... he's just..." He sighed and sat down on the steps. When Rita sat down beside him, he relayed the day's events to her in a hushed, clearly stressed tone.

* * *

Jake dropped onto the couch and grabbed the remote. He eyed his backpack and then focused his attention on the television. It was on the Weather Channel. Jake thought about changing it, but the light jazz music and the repetitiveness of it made it easy for him to zone out. And zone out he did, lying on his stomach with a throw pillow tucked under his cheek and one of his arms hanging off the couch, his claws dragging the carpet. Jake didn't hear Rita come in. She sat down near his legs and patted one of his shoes. "Feet off the couch, sugar." She purred sweetly. Jake eyed her almost hatefully before lazily dragging his feet to the floor and shifting so that he could still lay without the threat of falling off.

"You got any homework?" She asked.

"Nope." Jake lied quietly. What was the point in doing it anyway?

"Are you hungry?"

Jake inhaled loudly. "I'm just kind of tired."

Rita smiled softly at him. "Well, you're not going to sleep until you do your homework and eat something."

"You're not forcing me to eat. And I said I don't have any homework." Jake replied without looking at her.

Rita chuckled and stood up. "Well then you won't mind if I just take a look." She reached for the bag.

Jake rolled his eyes but couldn't find the energy to fight her on it. Instead, he watched her fish around for his agenda. Turning to the current week, she was surprised to find nothing written down. "No homework for three days?" Rita gave Jake a curious look. "Well that's pretty odd." She plucked out his History book and flipped it open to where a folded sheet of paper was sticking out. It was on a review page where there were several questions. "You sure you don't need to answer these?"  
Jake tilted his head to look at the book and shrugged.

Rita shook her head and unfolded the paper. "Ooh a field trip. Does Chance know about this?"

"Nope." Jake replied honestly.

"Well I will just have to make sure he sees it." She tucked the permission slip into her pocket. Rita stood up. "I guess since you don't have anything to do, you wouldn't mind cleaning the upstairs bathroom for me. My back can't take all that bending over." She turned off the television. "There's bleach under the kitchen sink. I've got some chicken thawing in the microwave."

Jake shot her an incredulous look.

"Come on now." She said impatiently. "Get to it. You're not just gonna lay around on my couch."

He sighed loudly and slid off the couch.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Callie asked, placing one of her finely manicured paws on one of Chance's larger ones.

Chance chuckled. "That obvious?"

"You just seem like you're a million miles away." Callie looked hopeful.

"Ah I'm just worried about Jake." He sighed.

Callie frowned. "Aw, come on, Chance. You're with me. I think Jake's a sweet kit and all but you gotta be able to think about other things."

Chance shook his head. "I know. You're right." He flashed her a dazzling smile. "You look very beautiful tonight."

Callie blushed. "Why thank you!" Then she smiled and pulled her paw away. "I got you something." She reached for her purse and pulled out a small box that was neatly wrapped in red paper with gold ribbon.

"What?" Chance looked surprised. "Why? What's the occasion?"

Callie's face fell in disappointment.

Chance laughed. "I'm kidding." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a long thin box. "I'm not very good with wrapping paper."

"You first." Callie beamed impatiently.

Chance made a show of slowly removing the wrapping paper.

"Oh just rip it off already." Callie sighed, feigning annoyance.

"Fi-i-ine." Chance whined and tore off the paper. Beneath it was a finely crafted box. He opened it to find a watch with a nice steel band and an old Megawar II plane etched onto the face. He grinned. "I love it!" Immediately he removed it from the box and wrapped it around his wrist.

"It looks good on you." Callie beamed.

"Alright. Now you." Chance bit his lip, hoping he hadn't overdone it.

Callie puffed out a breath as she opened the long box, revealing a bracelet. It was simple, with a row of small stones, but it was still beautiful. "Oh!" She gasped and put it on. "How beautiful!"

"Yeah." Chance smiled. "You are."  
"Oh stop." Callie blushed.

"Okay." Chance shrugged. "If that's what you want."

Callie pretended to be offended.

* * *

Chance studied the permission slip in the kitchen light. History had been his favorite subject so naturally he didn't hesitate to check the box asking if the parent/guardian would like to volunteer to chaperone the trip. Then he neatly tucked the slip back into Jake's history book in his book bag and went to check on the teen.

Jake's door was open and he was lying on the covers with is face buried in his pillow. Chance looked at the time. It wasn't even eleven; the boy was usually still awake. He sighed and pulled the door slightly closed before going down the hall to his own room.

Jake stared at the well, watching until Chance's shadow disappeared and the light coming in went off until all he was left with was the slight chill in the air from where he'd left his window open and the moonlight filtering in. He shifted so that he was on his side and his arms were out in front of him. Extending his right index claw, he lightly traced a music note into the fur on his left wrist. Before the fur could raise back up to cover the spot, he drew it over the spot again, a little bit firmer and then again until it was a pink line in his flesh. Over and over again he etched the tiny music note into his skin until it split and droplets of blood rolled down to meet the sheets the way the tears did from his eyes: silent and hot. Jake bit down the kitten-like whine that threatened to spill from his throat and he soundlessly slid out of bed, going to the window where he would climb the ladder to the roof.

* * *

Chance rolled over and dropped his paw heavily onto his beeping alarm clock. He stared at it for several seconds before pushing himself up and stretching his broad shoulders and muscular arms, wincing as the joints popped loudly. Then he threw his feet out of bed and onto the worn carpet. As he exited his room, he was surprised to hear the shower on in the bathroom. "He's not sleeping," he mumbled to himself as he went to the kitchen to make some coffee, again surprised to find that there was a fresh pot waiting for him. There was a cup sitting next to the pot with half a cup of cream and sugar with a touch of coffee in it for color. Chance snorted and dumped the sweet syrupy concoction into the sink and refilling it with the rich, black drink. He took just a couple of sips before hearing the water turn off and the fur dryer come on.

* * *

"I'll see you at 4:30." Chance said as he pulled to a stop in front of the school. "Don't forget to turn in that permission slip."

Jake acknowledged his guardian with a nearly imperceptible nod of the head before slipping out of the car. He slipped on his backpack and shoved his paws into his pockets as he walked slowly to the door, vaguely aware that Chance was lingering until he made it inside.

"Hey." Miranda smiled brightly as she ran up to Jake, grabbing the back of his book bag forcefully to get his attention. Her shirt was a v-neck and it showed off the necklace perfectly. Jake wished he could use his mind to cause it to burn into her unworthy flesh. "So I was thinking maybe we could go to the movies this weekend."

Jake forced his attention away from the gift, realizing by the triumph on her face that she mistook his staring for something else altogether. "Can't," he replied in a near-whisper. "Sick."

"You're sick?" She arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

Jake nodded. "Yeah."

"Ooh-kay." Miranda looked away. "Maybe some other time."

"Yeah." Jake shifted his bag and back-stepped away from her. "I-I gotta go." He quickly put as much distance as he could between himself and the bold she-kat, wishing like hell that he really was sick. No. Wishing like hell that he was...

-WHAM-

Jake closed his eyes as his shoulder hit the lockers. He offered Trevor and Andrew a tired look as they laughed loudly at their attempt to irritate their target. Jake pushed himself away from the units and walked away. As he neared his locker, he spotted Jason and bypassed switching out books to catch up with his friend.

"It's so weird," Jason said. "Knowing she won't be back."

"I'm sorry." Jake ducked his head. "She was your friend first."

"Hey you... uh... you wanna go for a walk down to the football field before class?" Jason asked quietly.

Jake looked passed him towards one of the doors leading outside. "Sure," he replied.

Jason led the way outside and down a path through the trees that was less obvious than the steps the went directly from the school to the field. He slipped through the open gate surrounding the stadium and went under the bleachers. Jake followed him. Most of the ground was damp from the rainy weather, but they managed to find a spot of dry earth to sit on.

"Suri was the first kat I ever told that I was gay." Jason confessed, pulling open his backpack and fishing around for the reason they'd come down there. "Miranda found out because she saw me and Kyle at some party."

"Do you still, you know... see him?" Jake asked.

Jason shook his head. "No. He used to go to school with me, but then he quit. We lived next door to each other for a while."

Jake leaned against one of the concrete and steel pillars and settled into their puff-pass rhythm. "What's it like?"

Jason gave him a worried look. "Being gay?"

Jake nodded.

"I guess kind of like being straight." He looked a bit confused. "I don't know how to describe it. I'm just not attracted to girls."

Jake furrowed his brow. "I guess what I really mean is how you know you are."

Jason laughed softly. "I used to have this friend when I was eleven. He would spend the night a lot and we just kind of... experimented with each other. Then one day I realized that, when everyone else was dreaming about she-kats... I was stuck on my friend."  
Jake closed his eyes and let his head rest against the concrete behind him. "How do you know you don't like girls? Have you ever kissed one?"

Jason took the smoldering joint back from Jake. "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

"No," Jake made a scoffing sound.

"Then how do you know you don't like boys?"

Jake blinked his eyes open. "I..."

Jason clumsily shifted to his knees. "Do you ever think about it?"

Jake slowly shook his head. Was Jason closer to him? He tilted his head slightly, studying the hesitant expression on his friend's face. Before he could process the question forming in his brain, the pudgy, shorter tom was leaning over him and planting a tender kiss on his lips. Jake pressed his palms into the dirt to steady himself. The first thought to course through his brain was how soft his lips were, like Suri's. The second thought was that there was a boy kissing him and his body was noticeably responding. Jake gasped and jerked away. He stared at Jason with wide, confused amber eyes before scrambling to his feet, grabbing his bag and darting out from under the bleachers.

* * *

_**dun dun dun...**_


	29. On A Wire

_**I apologize for the long wait. As per usual, my life is the epitome of crazy. **_

Jake shot Jason a brief look before passing him in the hall. Jason ducked his head and kept on walking. If it wasn't for Chance being there, then he would have made an attempt to confront Jake. They'd gone a week and a half without speaking. Jake had wanted to talk about what had transpired between the two as well but he'd been afraid and now was the worst time to even think about it with less than an hour before a field trip that promised to be boring. Jake scrubbed a paw through his hair. He really wished Chance hadn't volunteered to chaperon. All he really wanted was to just sort of tag along on this trip. Now he'd have no choice but to be involved. And what's worse was that Chance was constantly bugging him, asking him how his day was, trying to get him to talk when all Jake wanted to do was be left alone with his thoughts. He unconsciously flexed his left paw, causing the skin under his sleeve to pull the series of notes he'd obsessively scratched into his arm from his wrist down the under side of his forearm to the crook. It was all he could do at night not to think about her and then it was hell to fall asleep and taste Jason on his lips.

* * *

Chance decided by the time they stopped in the picnic area to have lunch that he definitely did not like Trevor Fulton. Mr. Culberth had wisely and appropriately assigned the bully to another group, but that didn't stop him from being obnoxious. He cleared his throat and looked at his young charge. Jake was leaning on his arm and staring absently at the marked off would-be exhibit visible from the eating area.

"You gonna eat?" Chance asked, nudging Jake's arm.

Jake looked up sharply. "What?"

"Are you going to eat?" Chance repeated a bit more slowly. He knew for a fact that the teen hadn't been eating much and several times he'd contemplated calling Charlotte. Fortunately, there hadn't been any calls for the Swat Kats, but he worried that if one did come in, he'd have to tell Jake to stay home. He stared at Jake, still waiting for an answer but Jake simply stared back as if not understanding the question. "Jake." Chance snapped his fingers.

"Sorry." Jake shook his head. Obediently, he took a large bite of his sandwich and quickly polished it off to keep Chance from worrying about it. It hit his stomach like lead but he didn't let the discomfort show.

"Alright everyone." Mr. Culberth, who'd been chatting up Abi Sinean about one of the exhibits. "Five more minutes to finish up and then we are going to move on to the Mega War II section of the museum."

"Yes." Chance silently cheered. "You think I know more about the subject than your teacher?"

Jake simply shrugged, balling up his trash and getting up. He tossed it in the trash.

"Hey where you going?" Chance stood up.

Jake gave him a slightly impatient look before pointing at a sign that said 'Restrooms'.

"Oh." Chance sat back down.

Mr. Culberth noticed that Jake was gone and took the opportunity to approach the tabby. "Mr. Furlong..."

"Chance," Chance replied.

"Okay... Chance." Mr. Culberth sat down beside him. "I've been meaning to speak with you about Jacob's grades."

Chance narrowed his eyes. The teacher's tone implied he had something negative to say.

"Is there something going on at home?"

Chance shook his head. "No. Why?"

"Jake seems to spend more time sleeping or daydreaming than actually working. Do you think you can stick around after we get back to school so that I can talk about this with a little more depth?"

Chance saw Jake come back around the corner and nodded his head. "Yeah. Sure."

Mr. Culberth thanked Chance and returned to getting his students ready to move on.

* * *

Chance watched Jake grab his backpack and head towards the orchestra room. "I'll see you in an hour," he said.

"Yeah." Jake replied quietly and walked off somewhat lethargically.

Chance sighed and walked back towards Mr. Culberth's classroom. The last students were leaving as he walked in. Mr. Culberth was removing a file from his desk drawer and opening it up. "Jake hasn't turned in any homework assignments in two weeks. And these are the last four quizzes we've had and the test from Friday."

Chance watched as Mr. Culberth spread out the work. He was taken aback by the lack of attempt.

"It's like he isn't even here." Mr. Culberth pointed out the unanswered or ignored questions. "And he's been late to my class six times, either not showing up until lunch or not coming back until right before the bell signaling the end of the period."

Chance frowned and shook his head. "I... I don't know. He's in counseling and he's dealing with some issues from before I had custody of him. I just..." He trailed off. It was hard to process. Jake wasn't someone who just gave up on things. He was a perfectionist. Chance's frowned deepened. The boy was also obsessive. He had a great deal of trouble letting go of things.

Mr. Culberth waited to see if Chance would say anything else before sighing. "Jake showed great promise at the beginning of the semester and to see him just... plummet..." He hesitated for a moment. "I've talked to his other teachers." Mr. Culberth rolled his eyes. "Albert... er... Mr. Snow, his Geometry teacher doesn't really care how withdrawn his students are as long as they complete their assignments and Jake seems to be doing well in there. But Mrs. Shuman on the other end of the school gave me these." He pulled a few sheets of notebook paper out of his desk. "She said that he hasn't been completing the work in her class either and that he seems oblivious to what's going on."

Chance huffed out a breath as he took in the incomplete assignments. "I knew he was acting a little withdrawn. But I didn't think he'd just flat out given up." He sighed loudly. "Listen I'll... I'll have a talk with him, see if I can get him to get back on track."

"Just so you know," Mr. Culberth said before Chance could leave. "It's not the grades that bother me. I'm not upset over that."

Chance grimaced. "Last semester, Jake made himself sick over anything other than perfection. And now he doesn't care at all?" He shook his head. "The grades _do_ bother me. Jake isn't someone that simply accepts failure."

* * *

Jake quickly put his sheet music together and made a dash for the door.

"Jake if you could just hang on a second.." Mr. Spieker stepped in front of him with a smile. "I've been meaning to talk to you about the upcoming Solo and Ensemble competition."

Jake sent a disappointed look towards the door. "Let me guess, someone needs a piano accompaniment."

"No. Actually, there are several of those already lined up. I was hoping you might compete for yourself. You're quite a talented individual and I think that..."  
"Sorry." Jake cut him off. "Listen, Mr. Spieker, this is fun and all but I think after the year ends, I'm done with this."

"You're... you're what?" The lanky music teacher's face fell in disappointment. "But _why_?"

Jake found himself looking towards the new first chair violist. "I just don't think I'm all that interested in it any more."

Mr. Spieker gave the teen a frustrated look. "Suri was a wonderful student," he said, not at all oblivious to why Jake had signed up in the first place. "But certainly you found some form of joy in this aside from having the opportunity to impress a girl."

"If I said I didn't?" Jake looked down at the coarse gray carpet.

"I'd say you were lying." Mr. Spieker replied with a harrumph. "Give it some thought. You've got two weeks before I need an answer and I won't accept one right now. I want you to think about it." He looked at his watch before clapping the boy on the shoulder and giving him an 'I'm counting on you' look before walking off.

Jake sighed loudly and turned towards the door.

"Furlong wait!"

Jake had almost forgotten they'd changed his name in an attempt to hide him. "Yeah?" He shot Daniel Furlough an irritated look. The newly appointed first chair looked anxious.

"So? What are you playing?"

Jake blinked. "The same piece as you..."

"What?" Daniel frowned. "No. Not for the ceremony." He chuckled nervously. "Solo and ensemble? What are you going to play?"

"I'm not." Jake reached for the door.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Daniel moved in front of him. "I have a proposition for you."  
"Not interested." Jake pushed passed him.

"Just hear me out, okay?" Daniel followed him out into the hall. "All this Beethoven and Bach and Strauss... it's all so... overdone. And I thought we could do something a little more edgy."

"We are talking about classical music, right?" Jake rolled his eyes, not stopping.

"Sort of." Daniel huffed out. "What do you think of Nirvana?"

"_Nirvana_?" Jake asked incredulously, finally stopping.

"Yeah. Look, you can't sing can you?" Daniel looked hopeful.

"How'd we go from Solo and Ensemble to a concert?" Jake looked a bit petrified. As of yet, he hadn't been center stage. Even considering dropping the music course, he was content to remain an accompaniment or a small part of a larger production.

"I thought we could do the piece for Solo and Ensemble and then, the next week is the school talent show." Daniel looked excited. "We could totally play the part. 90's grunge meets classical instrumentals. It would be epic."

Jake winced. "I don't know if epic is the word I'd use."

Undeterred, Daniel handed a stack of papers to Jake. "Just at least sight-read it."

"There are other kits that can play piano in the school, you know."

"Yeah." Daniel bit his lip. "But none of them scream Kurt Cobain quite like you."  
"Considering I'm only 14 and not on drugs, I don't know how to take that." Jake glared.

"You're friends with Jason, aren't you?" Daniel whispered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jake hissed back.

"It means you're either queer or on drugs." Daniel smirked triumphantly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Jake scowled at his retreating classmate before looking down at the sheet music. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" stared back up at him in bold letters. He clenched his fist, crinkling the crisp papers and briefly wondered how much trouble he'd be in for singing the lyrics. "Daniel wait!" Jake darted out the doors to find the violist leaning against the brick outer wall. "I'm not gay."

"Why are you telling me this?" Daniel looked a bit shocked.

"Because you said..." Jake cleared his throat and straightened his posture a little bit. "And I don't do drugs."

This time Daniel smirked. "You just spray yourself with Eau De Mary Jane every so often?"

"It's not a habit." Jake replied through gritted teeth.

"Again, why are you telling me this? This isn't a confessional." Daniel rolled his eyes.

"You're right." Jake hissed. "It is none of your business. But I think I want to do this."

"What about quitting?"

"I can quit later." Jake looked down at the music. "I think I need to do this." He looked up, noticing the SUV waiting on him.

"Alright." Daniel folded his arms across his midsection. "We can either practice before school starts or during lunch."

"During lunch." Jake said. "I'm not always here early."

"You aren't going to back out on me, are you?" Daniel asked, a fleeting moment of worry.

"No." Jake replied before stepping away from the building.

* * *

"How was rehearsal?" Chance asked as soon as the teen got into the car.

"Fine." Jake replied mechanically.

Chance nodded his head as he pulled out of the parking lot. "I had a word with your history teacher while you were practicing. You got anything you wanna talk about?"

"I need a piano." Jake said. "Something I can practice on at home."

"We'll work on that." Chance replied. "Answer my question."

"Why? You clearly already know something and you're just testing to see if I know it to. Just go ahead and say what's on your mind." Jake kept his focus out the window.

"Alright." Chance sighed but didn't continue.

Jake drummed his claws impatiently on his knees, waiting for the ball to drop. When it didn't, he hazard a look at his guardian. "Well?"

"It can wait until we get home." Chance said quietly.

"Right." Jake sighed.

"You have a lot of homework?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Did you forget that the only class I was in today was History? Or was that someone else chaperoning?"

Chance shot the teen a sideways look, a glare. "I meant for yesterday. You _were_ in all your classes yesterday, weren't you?"

"Sure." Jake slumped down in his seat and watched the scenery roll by. The ensuing silence was awkward and tense, and when Chance parked the vehicle in front of the shop, Jake all but launched himself from the passenger seat in an attempt to escape the suffocating condemning silence.

"Jake." Chance finally said, before the young tom could disappear into his room. He saw his shoulders tense before he turned.

"What?" Jake asked, a hint of fear tainting his rebellious tone.

"You wanna really tell me what's going on at school?"

Jake arched one eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Chance gave him a sharp glare. "Come on now, Jake. Don't play that card. I'm not an idiot. Why aren't you doing your work?"

"Oh that..." Jake said with a casual shrug. "I'm just not feeling it anymore."  
"Well that's kind of too bad." Chance replied with a snort.

"It's really not a big deal." Jake shoved his paws into his pockets. "I mean, I already have a degree. I could teach these classes."

"Don't give me that." Chance rolled his eyes. "Just a few months ago, you couldn't stomach a failure and now you're just brushing them off? Is this about Suri?"

Jake winced.

"Or is it about that kat that killed your parents?"

"Fuck you, Chance." Jake growled, snapping his head up to glare at his guardian. "You're not my dad. I don't have to take any of this from you."

"No. You're right. I'm not your dad. But I'm still responsible for you." Chance rebuked, a hurt look on his tabby face. "That means, you do have to listen to me. So you've got two choices. One: you can talk to me or, Two: you can talk to Charlotte. Either way, you're going to stop dwelling on all of this."

"Or what?" Jake asked, a daring look in his eyes. "What are you going to do?"  
"What am I going to do?" Chance scoffed. "Jake, there are still consequences for your actions here. I may have exaggerated your need to get straight As but not to the point that if you just give up on everything I can still protect you. I mean, damn Jake." He huffed. "I figured you'd rather be here with someone that actually gives a damn about you than with some foster home that only takes in kits for the tax write off."

"How long are you going to keep holding that above my head?" Jake snapped. "I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

"You're not a burden." Chance softened.

"Whatever, Chance." Jake rolled his eyes and turned on his heel.

Chance watched him go into his room and slam the door before leaning against the wall and pressing the heels of his paws into his eyes. "What is wrong with him?" He mumbled.

* * *

Jason was startled from his intense focus on his computer by the sudden vibration of his phone in his pocket. He looked at the time as he retrieved the device. "It's almost one in the morning," he whispered before looking down at his phone. It was a text message from Jake.

"Has Suri left yet?"

Jason read the message out loud. "Left? What?" He shook his head and dialed Jake's number. "Are you sleep-texting me?"

"No." Jake whispered over the line. "I think I'm gonna go see her. Have they moved yet?"

"Yeah." Jason replied. "But she gave me her new address. I'm not supposed to tell you."

"What is it?"

Jason furrowed his brow. "Are you alright?"

"I just need to talk to her." Jake replied, his quiet tone urgent.

"Alright. I'll text you the address. You want company?"

Jake was quiet for a minute. "Yeah. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes."

Jake quietly picked the keys up off the hook on the wall. Careful to avoid making any noise, he slipped out the door and down the stairs. With in moments, he was pulling out of the yard, the gate closing behind him. Jason was waiting just down the street from his house.

"I get the feeling this mission is classified?"

Jake couldn't help the small laugh. "Kind of. Chance is asleep. I put Suri's address in the GPS. It should take about 45 minutes to get there."

"What are you going to do when we do get there?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't know. I just... I need to talk to her. I can't stop thinking about her."

Jason bit his lip. "Is that who you were thinking about, you know... when I..."

"Yeah." Jake shot an awkward look sideways. "Can we not talk about that?"

"Sure. Just..." Jason grimaced. "Sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Well I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking. At all. I just...well maybe it was wishful thinking. A little."

"Jason." Jake clenched the wheel. "It's... it's not a big deal... I'm not gay, okay? I was thinking about Suri and my head was screwed up. I was just confused."

"Right." Jason nodded his head, satisfied. "So... we're cool, right?"

"I asked you to do this with me, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Jason chuckled. "Chance is going to kill you if he wakes up and finds out you're gone."

"Are you kidding?" Jake smirked. "Chance can sleep through anything." Except the Swat Kat alarm. But, at the risk of risking the city, he'd turned down the klaxon. He needed to do this.

"You think she's going to listen to you?" Jason asked.

"I hope so." Jake replied quietly.

"So, what's next on your list of laws to break?" Jason smirked. "Going to be kind of hard for a boy scout like you to top grand theft auto."

"Technically the car partially belongs to me. It _was_ my dad's." Jake defended.

"Except that you don't have a license." Jason added. "You've come a long way from a quiet, nervous nerd."

* * *

Jake parked the car down the street and they walked the remaining distance to Suri's new home so as not to alert anyone of their presence with the headlights. "Which room do you think is hers?" Jake whispered.

"I don't know." Jason whispered back.

Jake quietly moved closer to the house and moved around it. He smiled when he caught the faint glow from a screen. Through the curtains, he recognized an Anime Suri was fond of. "Found it," he said and reached down to scoop up a paw full of pebbles. After several taps against the window, the curtains parted and Suri was looking out at him. Her glare was evident even before she slid the window open.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed.

"I just wanna talk." Jake cautiously moved closer. "I'm sorry for everything."

"That isn't going to bring my mother back." Suri replied tightly.

"I know." Jake glanced over his shoulder at Jason before looking back at his former friend. "Please, Suri. I need to know you aren't going to hate me forever. Even if I never see you again, I just... I can't stop thinking about you and how I screwed up. I did everything I could to keep anyone from getting hurt."

Suri closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "How'd you get here?"

"I took the car. Jason gave me the directions."

"You stole a car?"

"I didn't steel a car." Jake defended.

"Technically, you did." Suri smirked. "Impressive." She looked over her shoulder before climbing out the window and giving him a good once over. Even in the moonlight, the change from the last time she'd seen him was evident. "I just wanted you to feel some of the hurt that I felt. I didn't want you to kill yourself over it."

Jake looked back at her in her pajamas. She looked cold. He slid off his jacket. "Here."

Suri reached out to take it, noticing a few small music note shaped scratches on his arm. "You weren't really going to kill yourself, were you?"

Jake looked down at this forearm. "I thought about it. All the kats I've lost. And I didn't have the balls to pull the trigger..." He bit the inside of his cheek hard in an effort to remain in control.

"Do you.. um... you wanna come in?"

Jake's eyes widened. "That's... that's your room. What if...?"

"My dad's asleep." Suri took his paw.

Jake looked back at Jason. "What about...?"

"Jason," Suri smiled at him. "Can you keep an eye out?"

Jason looked suspicious. "What are you going to be doing in there?"

Suri shrugged. "I just want to give Jake a nicer goodbye."

Jake eagerly followed her through the window. "This isn't the part where you call the cops, is it?"

Suri shook her head. "No. For the record, I'm sorry too." She sighed. "Maybe we will get to see each other again."

"I hope so." Jake nervously scratched the back of his head. "So... I guess this is goodbye?"

Suri took his paws in hers. "I really did like you. That's what made what happened so hard."

Jake felt her moving closer. "Y-yeah." He was suddenly nervous. "I... er... um." He looked up into her eyes and felt himself pulled in. Jake licked his suddenly dry lips. "I liked you too." Taking a deep breath and hoping that she wouldn't hit him, he took a cue from Jason's spontaneous actions and stood up a little straighter, bravely kissing her on the mouth. Unexpected, he felt her lips part and her tongue touch his, turning the sudden, nervous kiss into a deep, sloppy venture into the unknown. Unsure of what to do and not ready to let go of this new experience, Jake placed his shaking sweaty paws on her hips. Did tongue count as first base or second? Unaware that they'd moved, they both froze when Suri bumped into the dresser and knocked something over. Giggling nervously, she turned her head.

"So... this kind of makes me want to keep telling you goodbye." Jake muttered. His lips felt swollen and he doubted he'd ever brush his teeth again, just to keep the taste of her tongue on his.

"You really probably should go." Suri ushered him back towards the window.

"Yeah." Jake gave her a hopeful look before moving in for another kiss. Bravely, he touched the fur on her waist under her shirt. She shivered and pressed against him. "I don't ever want to forget you," Jake purred into her mouth, wondering how far she'd let him go. He could feel her muscles tighten under his soft touch but she didn't back away and didn't say no. Their breaths came out in short puffs and his paw just ghosted the contour of her right breast when the door slammed open.

Startled, Jake pulled his paws away and stepped backwards as Kojo glared at him. "Uh..." Jake managed before finding the angry father moving towards him. "I gotta go." He said, darting for the window.

"Call me!" Suri managed as Jake scrambled back outside. She blinked in surprise to find flashing blue and white lights illuminating the yard. "Dad, you didn't!"

"I heard someone in the house! Of course I called the cops!" Kojo shouted at her. "What the hell was that boy doing in your room?"

Jake skidded to a halt, seeing the silhouette of Jason in the backseat of the cop car. "Shit," he cursed. "Not again." _"If I get one more call from the cops, I'm beating your tail."_ Remembering Chance's words from the last time he'd been arrested, he did the only thing that made sense in the moment. He ran. The keys to the SUV got stuck on his pocket and he hit the panic button instead of the locks. "Shit shit shit," Jake repeated, dropping the keys. When he double-backed to get them, the deceptively husky Enforcer that had been chasing him pounced. "Oh crud!" Jake tried to scramble away only to be pinned to the ground, his cheek and arms scraping against the pavement. Painfully, the officer bent his arms behind him and cuffed him around the wrist before none-to-gently frisking him. "Ow!" Jake protested as he was jerked to his feet. He was sure he would have bruises.

"Watch your head," the officer said gruffly as he forced Jake into the backseat next to Jason.

"Well at least I'll get to remember it this time." Jake muttered to his friend.

"I can't believe you tried to run." Jason frowned.

"I panicked. Chance _is_ going to kill me after all." Jake looked out the window and groaned. "Suri still has my jacket. And my phone is in it."

Jason twisted to look out the back window. "No she doesn't."

Jake did the same and saw one of the officers returning his his bomber jacket, cell phone and keys. "It was nice knowing you."

"Was it at least worth it?" Jason arched his back to take some of the pressure off his arms.

"She let me touch a boob." Jake grinned. "It was totally worth it."

* * *

"What in God's good name is wrong with you?"

Jake's eyes widened at the angry screech. He'd expected Chance to silently take him home and let into him. But no. He'd called his mother. Now Rita stood there, with curlers in her hair, in sweat pants, flip flops and a giant coat. "I... uh..."

"Chance practically bends over backwards for you and this is how you repay him? By taking off in the middle of the night to see a girl? Anything could have happened to you! _ANYTHING!_"

Jake took a slight step back.

Like something from a movie, Rita grabbed a hold of him by his ear and pulled him towards the door.

"Rita... OW... Rita!.. STOP!... THAT HURTS! RITA!" Jake struggled to keep up with the older, heavyset she-kat, tears stinging his eyes from the sharp pain of her pulling him outside.

"Good!" Rita huffed. "It's supposed to!" She looked around, wondering where Chance was. He'd gone to retrieve the SUV from the police impound, along with Jake's things. "Well?" She asked.

"Well..." Jake looked at Rita with timid watery eyes. "Well what?"

"Do you feel good about yourself?"  
"I..." Jake froze. What was he supposed to say. "I had to see her, Rita. I had to make her listen to me."

"And you didn't think you could just ask Chance to take you to see her?" Rita put her paws on her hips. "You felt that the best solution was to run off in the middle of the night, to take a car you don't even have a license to drive nearly an hour away and sneak into her house?"

"I... didn't think that... I thought that if I..." Jake clenched his fists, frustrated by her logic. "You don't get it! You and Chance don't have a clue!"

Rita arched an eyebrow. "Jacob," she said so quietly it made his blood run cold. "I suggest you don't raise your voice to me. It won't help your cause."

"I didn't mean to get her mom killed." Jake hissed.

"Sugar I know that. So does Chance. Now if you'd just talk to us instead of going off on your own and getting into trouble over it, we wouldn't be in this situation. Honey, you can talk to both of us. You're family. Chance thinks of you like a son. And he's been trying to make up for how your father treated you. But you make it so hard when you pull something crazy like this. He's worried sick about you!"

Jake looked away from Rita, trying his best to ignore her lecture. He didn't want to hear it.

"HEY!" She snapped again. "Look at me."  
Jake glared at her, narrowing his eyes so she wouldn't see how shiny they suddenly were. "Is he really going to kick my ass?"

"Do you think you don't deserve it?" Rita asked quietly.

Jake sighed but didn't answer. He knew he did. They both looked up when Chance pulled up to the curb but didn't get out. "Guess he's waiting on me, huh?"

"Yep." Rita said. "Jake don't forget. There will be consequences for this."

"I'm pretty sure Chance will come up with something labor intensive."

"I wasn't just referring to him." Rita blinked. "You have a court date next week for this little stunt. Chance isn't pressing any charges over you taking the car. But Suri's father isn't too happy about you entering his home and there's a little matter of you evading arrest."

Jake's jaw dropped open. "Suri invited me in!" He defended. "And I didn't..." He winced. "Yeah I kind of did make a run for it."

Rita nodded her head.

"So..." Jake ducked his head, nodding it towards the car where Chance was waiting. "What should I expect?"

Rita offered a sympathetic smile. "Just remember that we both love you." She planted a wet kiss on his forehead.

* * *

**_Don't worry. I'm already working on the next chapter. I need an assistant or a secretary. Someone I can have follow me around and remind me of all the things I need to do._**

**_NK  
_**


	30. Judgement Day

Chance looked up from filing invoices in the office, giving Jake the same torn look he'd been giving the teen since three in the morning. He didn't know what to do. He was furious and was fighting the urge to bend Jake over his knee the way his father would have done. Instead, however, he'd been silent, speaking only when he needed to, telling the boy to do various tasks or asking him if his homework was done. Speaking of which...

"Is your homework finished?"

Jake nodded and perched himself on the edge of the desk, giving the tabby a wary look.

"I wanna see it before dinner." Chance said simply.

"Okay." Jake replied quietly, his tail thumping anxiously against the piece of furniture.

Chance looked up expectantly. "Is there something else?"

Jake looked at the door, making the older tom think he was going to leave. "When... when I was six, I asked my dad if I could have a pet. So he bought me a snake." He looked down at his feet. "It... uh... it was a ball python. He said her name was Ira. It seemed really neat at first but then I had to feed her these little baby mice. Little white ones that the housekeeper would bring home. I didn't want to do it, but if I didn't then Ira would starve to death." Jake kept his gaze on his white and black converses, the ones he hadn't worn since that day he broke his arm. He had newer, nicer once but couldn't seem to let go of the old pair. "I don't think I will ever forget the way she wrapped herself around that tiny little mouse, opened her mouth and gulped it down. I refused to feed her ever again. So Lorena, the housekeeper, she did it. She kept telling me not to play with the mice, that Ira would smell them on me and associate me with dinner. But I figured since I didn't actually touch the snake it wouldn't matter. Well, one night I guess she didn't close her cage all the way and she got out. I never noticed. I woke up because I felt something near my face and I couldn't breathe. Ira was trying to coil around my neck. I completely freaked out and I can't remember who it was that heard me screaming and got her off me. I couldn't sleep in my room for weeks." Jake looked up to find Chance leaning against the filing cabinet, arms crossed over his chest and an intense look on his face. "Kind of stupid, huh?"  
Chance just shook his head.

"My dad told me to grow up." Jake looked away, his voice sounding a bit thicker as he struggled to keep his emotions from boiling over. "That I was a stupid kitten. He felt bad later and tried to make it up to me. He bought me a strawberry milkshake."

Chance furrowed his brow. "You're allergic to strawberries."

"Yeah." Jake half chuckled. "He forgot. Like he forgot my birthday or my favorite food." He looked up at Chance with watery amber eyes. "You're... uh... you're a lot better at this than he was."

"Listen kiddo." Chance sighed. "I'm not pissed off about you going to see Suri. Granted, I can't believe you took the car in the middle of the night. I would have taken you to see her. You didn't have to sneak around. I know you needed to talk to her." His blue eyes twinkled a little. "I spoke with her father. He said something about walking in on you with your paws up her shirt."

Jake blushed furiously. "Heh," he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you could say she forgave me." He bit his lip. "For the record, the only reason I ran is because I was more afraid of how pissed off you were going to be than the cops."

"Well you should be." Chance grew serious again. "Because it's going to be a while before I forget about this. I'm going to hang onto your phone for a while. I hope you weren't planning on doing anything that isn't school related."

Jake shook his head. "I've got that awards ceremony tomorrow night and then Solo/Ensemble coming up. And then something else related to that after it."

"The music thing is fine. But from here on out I want to see all your homework assignments, and the thing with the cutting..." Chance dragged a paw through his hair.

"Chance..." Jake bit his lip. "It wasn't... I wasn't going anywhere with it. I just... I'm sorry." He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut, wondering how Chance had found out, when he'd seen it.

"It's hard. I know." Chance put his paws firmly on Jake's shoulder, ducking his head so that the teen couldn't avoid the eye contact. "When my dad died, I was lost. I mean we did everything together. I wanted to be just like him."

Jake opened his eyes again. It was overwhelming to see so much emotion in Chance's features and he fought to maintain his gaze. "How fucked up am I if sometimes I wish you'd take a swing at me just so I could feel like he's still here?"

Chance couldn't keep back the look of surprise at the confession. He could feel Jake's shoulders tense beneath his large paws. Unsure of what to say, Chance let out a deep sigh and moved one of his paws to rub the back of Jake's neck, the way his own father used to when he'd been upset. A car horn blared outside and he gave the teen a sad smile before leaving him alone in the office.

When Jake was by himself, he let out a ragged breath and wiped his treacherous eyes with the back of his paw. "Son of a bitch," he cursed softly. His paw moved to where Chance's had been on the back of his neck. It still felt warm. "What the hell is wrong with me," he mumbled, feeling shaky and drained. Jake slid off the desktop and walked around to the leather chair, dropping heavily into it. It squeaked and groaned. He put his head in his paws and let out another shaky breath.

Chance looked up from the truck he'd gotten tied up fixing. Jake was supposed to spend the day helping him, but the watery look in the kit's eyes made Chance feel like the he needed to be alone for a few minutes. He looked at the clock on the wall. It had been nearly an hour. Sighing loudly, Chance picked up a red grease stained shop rag and wiped his paws in a fruitless attempt to clean them up. He paused outside the office door, listening for any kind of sound. Chance narrowed his blue eyes, wondering if Jake had taken his leaving as a sign that he was off the hook. Maybe he'd gone down to the hangar. Biting the inside of his cheek, Chance slowly opened the door. He let out a puff of air when he found Jake with his head buried in his arms on the desk. For a moment that tabby thought his charge was asleep. Then he heard a soft sniffle. "Jake," he said quietly. The teen's head snapped up. Startled, Jake quickly wiped his eyes. Chance dutifully looked away. "You plan on helping me today?"

"Y-yeah." Jake replied, his voice tight. "I was just on my way out there."  
"Alright." Chance nodded, looking back at Jake. "Take your time."

Jake watched him leave again. He took a deep breath, then dragged a quivering paw through his messy hair before cramming his cap onto his head and standing up. The tinted, dingy window on the office door was somewhat reflective, and he used it to smooth down his fur and to offer a glare at his youthful reflection before leaving the small cramped office.

* * *

Chance straightened Jake's bow tie and then smoothed down the sleeves on is tuxedo jacket.

"You didn't have to stick around for this." Jake brushed off his guardians paws with an annoyed huff.

"Why wouldn't I?" Chance held up his paws in defeat, smirking a little.

"Because it's going to be really boring." Jake replied, lowering his voice as a pair of Enforcer vets neared. "This is just background noise."

"So?" Chance chuckled, pulling a camera from his coat pocket. "Besides, Ma wanted me to take pictures."

"Why?" Jake's ears flattened in embarrassment.

Chance grinned. "So she can gush over how handsome you look all dressed up." He firmly pinched one of Jake's cheeks while he spoke.

Jake glared at Chance. "Let go of my face." He hissed through clenched teeth, his braces catching the light.

Chance patted Jake on the cheek and started to turn around when he found the pair of retired Enforcers that had been approaching were watching them. "Heh," he scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. One of the elderly toms arched an eyebrow, clearly entertained, before speaking. "You Furlong's boy?"  
Chance's expression morphed into one of surprise; he shared a quick look with Jake. "I am."

"Chance Thedious Furlong." The other said loudly, barking out a coarse laugh. "How's that mother of yours doing?"

"She's doing just fine." Chance's tone became a bit more defensive. "I'm sorry, but should I know you toms?"

The one who'd first spoken chuckled. "Boy, it's been so long since we last saw you, that we won't take offense to you forgetting who we are." He straightened, puffing out his broad chest. "Th' name's Michael Felinikiss and this here is Rupert Softclaw."

Chance stared at the two vets for a moment before laughing softly and smiling at Jake. "Jake, I want you to meet 'Ghost' and 'Talon'. Mr. Felinikiss here was my pop's wing-kat. And 'Talon' was his gunner."

"See, Mike. I told ya he'd remember us." Rupert grinned. "This your boy, Chance?"

Chance chuckled softly. "Yeah." He clapped Jake firmly on the shoulder. "Yeah he is." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the orchestra director looking around. "I think your teacher is looking for ya."

Jake looked up and winced as a glare was sent his way. "Uh... yeah. Um..." He looked back at the older toms. "It was really nice meeting you."

Jake hurried to make it to where the small chamber orchestra group was setting up. As he sat down on the bench at the piano and spread out his music, he realized his paws were trembling.

"_That your boy, Chance?"  
"Yeah. Yeah he is." _

Jake looked across the gathering of senior toms and she-kats, waiting to accept awards and be honored for their heroism to find Chance still talking to the toms that knew his father. As if the tabby felt his eyes upon him, he turned, smiled and winked at Jake before turning back around. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists, willing them to steady.

* * *

Jake paused outside the door to the small courtroom. The knot in his stomach clenched tighter when he spotted Susan already seated inside. He took a nervous step backwards, bumping into Chance. A large paw settled on his shoulder. "You alright," Chance's deep voice whispered in his ear. Could he feel the sudden trembling? Jake nodded stiffly. "You sure?"  
Jake turned his head. "You didn't tell me she was going to be here."

Chance looked over Jake and into the room. "I wasn't told. But they wouldn't tell me something like that. It's no big deal, Jake. Just relax. Whatever they ask, tell the truth." He gently pushed the teen forward, prompting him to move. "Let's sit near her so I can ask what's going on."

Jake looked around at the other kats waiting to be tried. They appeared to all be teenagers. A chill darted down his spine when he saw Andrew. The bully offered a dark smile and didn't so much as blink, forcing Jake to look away first.

"So how much trouble are we looking at here?" Chance softly whispered to the social worker.

"Most likely some sort of community service. I don't see Mr. Tier, however. And if he doesn't show up, then most of the charges will be dropped."

"Most?" Jake asked, his voice reflecting his nervousness.

"I heard something about you evading arrest." Susan glared at the teen. "You aren't my only case, Jake. And you are certainly the least of my worries today."

"Right." Jake sighed and sank down in his seat. He looked at his watch. It was almost 8:30. Maybe Suri convinced her father not to press charges. He watched the kats enter and leave the room, holding his breath every time the door opened. For thirty minutes, he waited and watched and no Kojo. Satisfied that he was off the hook, he turned around to pay attention to what was going on. The fur on the back of his neck stood up when the door opened and closed one last time. He turned his head to see who it was, but Chance grabbed his arm. "Pay attention," he hissed.

Jake never saw Andrew go up to the stand. But the she-kat with him did, along with a small kitten. "His brother," he deduced. He shot a sideways look at the ever silent bully when his sibling was sentenced to Juvenile Detention for aggravated assault with a knife. Andrew returned it with a venomous glare.

"Next is the case of Kojo Tier versus Jacob Furlong." The clerk rattled off the case number and Jake felt Chance nudge him. "Go on."

Jake gave him a timid look. He was supposed to go up there by himself? The impatient look Chance gave him answered the question. As he stood, Kojo strolled passed him. Jake felt his heart sink. He glanced at the officer that had chased him as he nervously approached the podium. The judge recited the charges and asked Kojo if he still wished to press them.

Suri's father's posture relaxed somewhat. "After a great deal of consideration, I've decided not to press charges against Jacob."

Jake's jaw fell open in shock and he turned his head sharply to look at the white furred tom. Kojo didn't look away from the judge, belying his unabated anger towards the teen. "Suri must have talked him out of it." He thought.

"However," Kojo added. "I do not wish to see him near my daughter, and I want it known that should something like this happen again, I will not be inclined to forgive so easily."

"Alright." The judge said. "That leaves us with this evasion charge. Tell me something, kitten." He leered at Jake, making the teen visibly nervous. "You seem like a good kit. Why'd you make a run for it?"

Jake looked over at the arresting officer and then back at the judge. "I panicked." There was a soft murmuring of laughter behind him and he suddenly hated the fact that this was a public hearing. The judge sighed. "You panicked." He repeated, looking down at the list of cases he had to pass judgment on. It was easy to see that out of the list of juvenile delinquents that had to stand before him today, this kit was hardly one of them. He was simply a teenager that appeared to have made a spontaneous, irrational decision born from good intentions. "Didn't they use those to pave a road somewhere?" He thought cynically before looking back at the 14 year old waiting nervously. Chewing on his bottom lip, exposing his top row of braces. With another heavy sigh, he crumpled up the case report. "Get outta here, kit."

"But.." Jake started to question the odd behavior. He'd been expecting some sort of punishment, after all.

"Before I change my mind. I have more important cases than some kid who just wanted to see a girl." The judge motioned for him to leave with a wave of his paw.

"Okay." Jake took a step backwards and started to turn.

"Don't take this as a sign that you can get away with anything. If I see you here again, I won't be so lenient."

Jake winced as he walked back towards Chance. "That went well," he whispered as the tabby stood to leave.

Chance replied with a derisive snort. "Come on. You can still make 2nd period."

Jake frowned and gestured at the nice clothes he was wearing. "We can't go home so I can change first?"

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" Chance gave Jake a good once over. He was wearing what his mother called 'church clothes'. Neatly pressed brown-khaki pants, brown loafers, and a button-up shirt that was actually tucked in, something the teen hadn't done since the Enforcers, with the exception of recitals. He was also wearing a belt, which was a nice change from his tendency to allow his normally loose fitting jeans to simply cling to him. "You actually look halfway presentable." Chance teased as the exited the room.

"Yeah, all I'm missing is the sweater vest and a pocket protector." Jake glared.

"You'll be fine. Besides, we don't have time. You have a test in German today and I have something I need to do." Chance patted Jake on the head.

Jake sighed loudly in the long hallway and defiantly un-tucked his shirt.

"At least leave the belt on." Chance pleaded. "I get really tired of seeing your underwear."

_**

* * *

What happens next time? Tune in to find out. Same Kat time. Same Kat channel. (nananananana nananananana swat kaaaaats)**_

_**N.K. **_

_**(PS... cocaine is a helluva drug... seriously... it's just the coffee. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!)**_


	31. Marching To A Tune

Chance leaned in the open doorway to Jake's room, watching him silently play on the full length electronic keyboard he'd purchased with some of the money left to them by Dr. Clawson. He wished he could hear the music, but Jake was wearing headphones and insisted on keeping it a secret. Chance sighed and entered the room. He could see that Jake's eyes were closed and his lips were moving as if he were mouthing the words to whatever he was playing. The light fur covering his brow was drawn up into creases, belying his intense focus. Chance felt a little bad for having to interrupt. He tapped his claws on the outer plastic edge of the keyboard, hoping it would catch the teen's focus. Jake's features relaxed and he opened his eyes. Removing his claws from the keys to take off the thick headphones, he gave the tabby a curious look. "You've got an hour before we need to leave for this competition thing you're doing."

"Okay." Jake stood up and stretched.

"So do I get to hear this today or what?" Chance asked while Jake pulled his tuxedo out of his closet and unzipped the dry-cleaner bag.

"No." Jake replied. "We're just playing for a judge today. You get to hear it next week." He hated to admit that he was excited about the talent competition. "It's just the song I'm playing," he told himself. "It's because it's something different."

Chance sighed loudly. "Can you at least tell me what it is?"

"No." Jake sighed. "Jeez Chance. Have a little patience, will ya?" He gave Chance a light shove. "Can I get dressed?"

* * *

Solo and Ensemble was being held at another school... the Megakat School For The Fine Arts. The sprawling campus in a well maintained woodland area on the outskirts of the city was something to be admired and was easily comparable to major universities. "How'd ya like to go here, Jake?" Chance asked, letting out a low whistle as he admired the marble floors and spiraling staircases in the main foyer. Jake scrunched up his face. "It looks nice, but I bet all this open space is to allow room for all the egos that attend this school."

"You're probably right. So where are we supposed to be going?" Chance asked.

"I'm supposed to meet Daniel in the auditorium. That's where registration is." Jake replied, walking towards a large glass encased image. It was a directory for the school. "Heh," he chuckled. "It's kind of like going to the mall."

"Except there's no food court." Chance huffed.

"Actually..." Jake narrowed his green eyes. "That says 'Food Court'." He tapped the glass. "And there's the auditorium. Up the stairs and to the left."

It was rather easy to find the cavernous room. All one had to do was follow the other students who were clearly dressed for a performance. "Now we just gotta find..." Jake trailed off as he spotted his classmate applying a coat of rosin to his bow. For the song they were playing, he'd felt the violin had a more appropriate sound. "It's about time you showed up." Daniel glared at Jake.

"I'm early." Jake folded his arms across his chest and glared at Daniel. "Are you already registered?"

"I had to wait for you." Daniel smirked, tucked his violin under his arm and pointed towards the stage were a table was set up and a pair of volunteers were taking the forms.

"You can wait here." Jake told Chance when the older tom started to follow him.

"This isn't as fun as I thought it would be." Chance pouted.

"It isn't supposed to be fun." Daniel scoffed. "Solo and Ensemble is very serious business." He looked at the amused expression on Jake's face. "For most of us anyway."

Chance dropped into one of the theater style chairs and waited. Once Jake and Daniel got registered, they disappeared to go warm up before their turn to perform. Some of the students chose to do their warm ups in the auditorium. Of course, they weren't keeping their piece a surprise. Chance wondered how they could focus with so many others playing different songs at the same time. He couldn't pick out one tune from another and it all just created a cacophony that he was sure would wind up causing a headache. "There are worse places I could be right now." He thought cynically as a familiar vibration in his pocket caught his attention. He covertly slid the red triangular communicator from his pocket and sighed. "Not now. Not now. _NOT NOW._" He thought as he stood up. "Okay," Chance thought to himself. "First, find out how severe of an emergency this is. Then, call mom and have her come get Jake."

* * *

"That was awesome!" Daniel exclaimed as he and Jake walked back to the auditorium. "I can't wait to do that next week."

"You sure we won't get in trouble for the lyrics?" Jake paused at the door.

"Why would we? The worst word in the whole song is 'mulatto'. It's not like you're gonna be dropping the 'F' bomb every five seconds." Daniel rolled his eyes and pushed open the door. "We've got about ten minutes before they call us and tell us what we made."

Jake looked around for Chance. "Okay. Hey can I borrow your cell phone?"

"Sure." Daniel pulled it out of his pocket.

Jake eyed the latest model touch screen phone. "I'm so jealous of you right now." Quickly, he put in Chance's cell phone number. He tapped his foot anxiously as it rang and rang until finally going to voicemail. "Shit." He cursed softly and then dialed another number. It rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Rita?" Jake hoped she knew what was going on. "Where's Chance?"

"Oh honey. I'm on my way. Chance got a call for the..." She trailed off. "He got a call. It was an emergency. He said to pick you up and take you home. He wants you to hail him on the radio to find out if he needs your help."

Jake's ears fell flat against his head. "Did he say who it was or what was happening?"

"Yes." Rita replied. "But he gave me strict instructions to wait until I spoke directly to you before explaining the situation. Now you just hang tight. I will be there in about fifteen minutes."

Jake ended the call and handed the phone back to Daniel.

"Everything alright?" Daniel asked.

Jake made a face. "Uh... yeah. Just... something came up." He removed his bow tie and nervously dragged a paw through his hair.

* * *

Jake was pacing up and down the sidewalk when Rita pulled in. Her old station wagon stood out like a sore thumb among the nicer, more expensive cars belonging to the vast majority of wealthy students. Jake didn't care though. He had more important things to worry about. "What's going on?" He said as soon as he was in the car.

"Aren't you going to tell me how you did?" Rita asked, putting the car in drive.

"It's not as important as Chance. Where is he?" Jake would apologize later for the heat in his tone.

"Dark Kat has that Callie of his. He's working with the Pastmaster. I don't know where he is, but downtown is a mess."

Jake looked out the window. He could see the darkened sky on the horizon. "You see the Turbokat anywhere?"

"No." Rita replied, her voice tense and thick with worry. "Jake, you can't be thinking of going out there alone."

"I have to." He said softly. "I have to find him."

* * *

The cyclotron's engine echoed throughout the empty streets. Wind swept up debris and trash into little cyclones, and Razor's headlight reflected off the damp asphalt. It was nearly three in the morning and he was scouring the city for the hundredth time, desperately searching for any clue. He'd tried to get T-Bone on the radio with no result. Even the locator beacon couldn't seem to find any trace of his partner, his friend... his family. Exhausted, Razor let out a frustrated growl and turned the motorcycle around.

Rita was pacing around their modest living room when Jake tiredly dragged himself through the door.

"Anything?" She asked, hopeful.

Jake sadly shook his head and dropped onto the couch, his head falling into his paws. "I tried," his words were muffled. "I'm sorry, Rita. I'm sorry." He flinched when he felt her arms wrap around his trembling shoulders.

* * *

T-Bone took a moment to remove his helmet and wipe away the sweat soaking through his mask.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Callie leaned against a tree while she watched the burly SWAT Kat repair the damaged wing with whatever he could find. It looked more like a flimsy bandage over a wound that desperately required surgery and suturing.

"Anyone ever tell you what an inspiring optimist you are, Miss Briggs?" T-Bone sighed.

"Right." She sighed. "Sorry."

"I'm ready to go home too." T-Bone turned to look at her before looking at the sky. It had been days without so much as a cloud. But now, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sky was beginning to swirl with purple clouds. "And I think we might just get our chance." He gave the damaged jet an affectionate pat. "Come on girl. I promise, if you get us home, I won't ever ask anything like this of you again."

The wind picked up and lightning struck a tree nearby, splitting it and setting the splintered wood ablaze. "I think that's our cue to get out of here." Callie moved closer to the vigilante.

"I couldn't agree with ya more." T-Bone quickly scooped up the Deputy Mayor and fastened her in the gunner's chair. "Hang on tight." He leaped into his seat and closed the canopy. "Come on..." T-Bone urged the engines to start. "Come on..." Finally they rumbled to life and the VTOLs lifted the jet off the ground. The Turbokat rattled unsteadily. "I think we only got one shot at this, Miss Briggs." He could tell one of the engines was about to fail.

"THERE!" She shrieked. "THERE'S THE PORTAL!"

T-Bone pulled up on the stick, his teeth gritted painfully together. "Come on," he urged again as the jet jerked and dropped. "Just a little bit closer..." There was a loud bang and gravity began to pull them to one side. Behind him, Callie cried out. "T-Bone!"

"HANG ON!" He shouted, feeling the pull of the vortex. "The cloud's got us!"

* * *

Razor watched the spiraling clouds with waning hope. Three days. It had been three days and not a single sign of T-Bone. Of Chance. He hadn't eaten or slept, choosing instead to spend every moment he could waiting, calling T-Bone's name over the radio. He'd almost given up hope when he'd seen the skyline change to dark and foreboding. Now, he watched, barely breathing, not moving, not making a sound. And then he saw it, like a feather caught in a hurricane. The Turbokat tumbled out of the vortex, trailed by a plume of black smoke. "Land it, T-Bone." Razor whispered, revving the engine on the Cyclotron and heading in the direction of the jet he'd painstakingly helped build.

* * *

"Come on girl." T-Bone ground out. "Just slow down." Then he remembered it. The latest little gadget Razor had come up with. "I'm so stupid!" He punched his fist against a newly installed button and a large parachute exploded from the tail of the jet. The force of the stop sent T-Bone forward, his restraints stopping him abruptly. "OOOF!" He felt the air whoosh from his lungs and he stayed there for a moment, dazed. "Miss Briggs..." he finally choked out, his chest aching. The she-kat sitting in Razor's seat didn't respond. Quickly, T-Bone unfastened himself and turned around. He couldn't help the amused smile that teased his lips. She was out like a light. "Heh. Wonder if she knows how good of a Razor impression she's doing." T-Bone chuckled before opening the hatch to give himself better access the deputy mayor. He lightly patted her soft cheeks until her eyes fluttered open.

"Ch-Chance?" She mumbled.

"Wh-at?" T-Bone choked out.

Callie blinked and shook her head. "Oh. It's you, T-Bone. I'm sorry. My vision was kind of blurry."

T-Bone let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay, Miss Briggs? Did you hit your head?"

"No... no I don't think I did. We... we were just moving so fast..." She trailed off. "Do you hear that?" Something was buzzing in her ears.

T-Bone's ears perked up and he grinned. "Yeah. I do." He quickly scooped Callie up and leaped to the ground. She managed to stand on her own, her head finally clearing. Then, only seconds later, a black and red motorcycle rounded the corner at an impossible speed.

Razor hadn't expected to come upon the Turbokat so quickly. He clenched his fists tightly on the breaks, causing the slick tires to slide on the wet pavement. Once he was sure the bike was steady, and that he could get off it without shaking, Razor moved as casually as he could away from the motorcycle and towards the wreckage. He could hear sirens in the distance. The cavalry was coming. As he neared T-Bone and Callie, the mix of relief, worry and excitement all seemed to turn into intense fury. How could he just run off like that? What if he was hurt? What if he would've died? Razor clenched his jaw tightly. "What would I have done?" He thought.

"Boy am I glad to see you!" T-Bone chuckled loudly. He wasn't at all prepared for Razor to shove him against the damaged jet, gripping his G-suit in his fist. The tabby looked down into his partner's heated gaze. "Razor..."

"Next time you plan on scaring the shit out of me," Razor purred angrily. "You think you could manage it without leaving me hanging for three days?" The last part was nearly whispered. And the anger in his eyes abated.

"Heh-yeah." T-Bone grimaced. "Sorry about that, kiddo." He pointed a thumb at the Turbokat. "We got kind of banged up. I couldn't get her back in the air before the portal closed. I was kind of starting to think we wouldn't make it back."  
"That isn't going to be easy to fix." Razor observed the damaged engine and the MacGuyver style repair job. "Nice job though."  
"I think I was channeling you when I did it." T-Bone smirked, drawing an amused look out of the serious teen. He nodded his head in the direction Razor had come from. "Feral's here."

"You're under arrest, SWAT KATS!" The commander shouted as he approached from his squad car. "For the kidnapping of the deputy..."

"Shove it Feral!" Callie snapped. Three days without the modern luxuries of hot water and warm meals made her intolerant to his persistent attempts at arresting the vigilantes. "Without T-Bone, I'd be dead. Or married to a troll. Or... who knows what Dark Kat would have done with me. So just... shut up and get someone to tow their busted up jet out of here so we can all go home."

Feral, the surrounded onlookers, and the Swat Kats stared at Callie.

"You sure you're alright, Miss Briggs?" T-Bone whispered.

"Yes. I'm fine, T-Bone." She sighed. "I'm just ready to go home and I don't want to waste any time trying to be bureaucratic with Commander Feral."

Feral bristled a bit at her tone. "Get out of here, Swat Kats. Now. Before I change my mind." He seethed through clenched teeth.

"Don't have to tell me twice." T-Bone started to walk towards the cyclotron. "You coming, Razor?"

"Where's yours?" Razor looked back at the busted jet.

"I had to use some of its parts to fix the Turbokat. Now come one. I'm driving." T-Bone pointed at the motorcycle impatiently.

* * *

"Oh thank the lord!" Rita forcefully pulled her son into a bone crushing hug. "We were so worried about you! Poor Jake hasn't slept in days and... my GOD you smell just _awful_!"

"Three days in a hot sticky jungle will do that to you." Chance replied tiredly.

"Well you go get clean. I'm going to make some dinner and Jake is going to bed. He's got school tomorrow." Rita turned to glare at the teen sitting at the table and sighed. He'd buried his head in his arms and was clearly asleep by the sound of his breathing. "He really was worried, Chance." She whispered. "I thought he was going to make himself sick over it. I can't even think about what it would've been like if you never made it back." Her eyes filled with tears.

Chance exhaled loudly. "I wasn't expecting to be gone for so long." He gently put a paw on Jake's back. "Hey kit, time to get up." He gave a little shake.

Jake bolted up. "What?" He shook his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"How about you hit the rack?" Chance pulled Jake out of the chair. "Hey I never got to find out how you did at the thing on Saturday."

"Maybe you should've stuck around." Jake retorted without any real heat.

"Yeah." Chance scrubbed a paw through Jake's hair. "Maybe I should've."

After making sure Jake was settled in for a good, long sleep, Chance stepped into his own room to grab a clean pair of clothes. As he pulled open his underwear drawer, he noticed a piece of paper on his dresser. Curious, he picked it up. Something heavy slid off of it and onto the floor. "What the..." He stooped to pick up a small, bronze and copper looking medal. It had quite a bit of weight to it and was stylized with a harp. Something was inscribed on it in Latin. "Huh." Chance said softly and then turned over the piece of paper. It was an award proclaiming the word "SUPERIOR" in gold embossed print. "Atta boy," he said with a grin. "I bet your pops never framed anything of yours before." He neatly set the awards back down and began thinking about where he wanted to put them as he prepared to take a nice, long, hot shower.

* * *

**_... hmm that shower sounds good right about now..._**

**_Nyte Kat ^_^  
_**


	32. Double Standard

**_I don't own Nirvana or the Swat Kats. _**

* * *

"Where's Callie?" Jake asked after taking a moment to find where he and Rita were seated.

Chance let out a disappointed sigh. "She said she was busy." He scrunched up his nose. "You're wearing _that_?"

Jake looked down at his baggy jeans, old converses, and open flannel shirt. "Yeah. Why?"

"You look like a homeless kat." Chance frowned.

"It's part of the act." Jake shrugged.

"You're playing the piano."

"It's not a fashion show, Chance. Jeez." Jake rolled his eyes. "Have you even looked at the program?"

Chance held up the cheaply made folded pamphlet. "Not yet."

"Slacker." Jake teased. "Hey I gotta go."

Chance watched Jake leave before settling down next to his mother. "Alright. Let's see what he's up to."

Rita simply let out a snort. "He's already told me."

Chance gave her an evil leer before flipping open the program and finding Jake's name on the list, next to Daniel's. "All it says is piano/violin duet." He frowned. "Give me a hint."

Rita sighed. "Okay. Well, they are playing a song from a band you used to love and I still hate."

"You hated all my music." Chance glared.

"And that much hasn't really changed. But I can tell you this. I hate it less than what Jake listens too." Rita shook her head.

There were four performances to sit through first. The first was a she-kat named Ashley. She was listed in the program as having won Homecoming Queen in the fall. As was typical of the popular socialite, she gave her best rendition of a top 40 pop song. Chance shared a look of misery with Rita. How many times had he heard that song on the radio in the last two days? She did a fine job though. There was no denying that pretty little Ashley had a set of pipes worth bragging about. Still, Chance couldn't help but think that, like all talent shows and runs for class president, this was a popularity contest. In fact, he was pretty sure that the goth kit that recited a poem next was screwed from the start. "He ain't winning, that's for sure." Chance whispered.

"Shush." Rita glared. "I think that was a beautiful poem."

Finally the curtain closed on the act preceding Jake's, and the school principal, who'd been introducing each performance, returned to the stage. "Next up, we have a classical twist on teenage angst. As performed by Jacob Furlong and Daniel Furlough..."

"IT'S PRONOUNCED 'FUR-LOFF'!" Someone shouted from the audience.

"Daniel Furlough." Mrs. Catsby corrected her previous pronunciation of 'Fur-low'. "My apologies." She then exited the stage, and the curtain slowly parted. The stage remained too dark to see it's occupants. But Chance was sure he could make the outline of the piano. As Jake began a soft melodic tune, the lights slowly revealed his figure... and a microphone placed near him. Chance smirked. He already knew the song. The violin seemed to be playing the part of the heavy guitar. And then back to a softer sound.

"Load up your guns

Bring your friends

It's fun to lose and to pretend

She's overboard

and self assured

Oh no, I know a dirty word..."

Chance instantly found himself singing along and grinning. There was some murmuring around him about how inappropriate Nirvana was for a school talent show. Jake clearly wasn't the next Kat Idol. But his voice was just hoarse enough from practicing to sound like an angry, uninhibited rock star.

"A denial... a denial... a deniiaall..." Jake finished the song and held his breath as the last notes resonated throughout the auditorium. At first, silence followed and he felt deflated. Then... a loud, excited 'WHOOP!' came from near the back.

"Yeah! That's my boy!" Chance shouted, standing up and applauding. Soon everyone followed suit.

Relieved, Jake stood up, offered a modest bow and then turned to Daniel. With a smirk, they pounded fists and left the stage to watch the remainder of the show.

"So... this wasn't a cry for help was it?"

Jake was startled to find Miranda waiting for him backstage. "What?"

"Because, you know, Kurt Cobain _did_ blow his brains out." She smirked.

"Oh fuck you, Miranda. I was just trying to have a little fun." Jake scowled.

"Relax. I'm just messing with you." She sighed. "You did a pretty awesome job. Don't count on winning though. I heard some mumbling about you being on drugs."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Don't believe everything you hear." He looked around. "Hey Jason isn't here, is he?"

"Are you kidding? He's practically on house arrest since you got him in trouble... again." Miranda glared.

"I didn't get him in trouble the first time." Jake glared. "I hope someone recorded this."

Miranda sighed. "The kits in the technology class have it all on DVR." She pointed towards the door. "I'm sure you can get it from one of them."

"Thanks." Jake grinned and went for the door.

"Where are you going?" Miranda asked.

"To watch the rest of the show with Chance." Jake replied. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Where are you going?" Jake asked in return.

"Home." She shrugged. "I just came to watch you."

"That's kind of creepy, Miranda." Jake made a face at her before leaving.

"Thanks for bailing me out." Jake grinned as he slid into a seat next to Chance. "Kind of thought I was just going to have to wait for the curtain to close."

Chance chuckled. "I don't think a few of the other parents here think that's appropriate music for teenagers."

"Go figure." Jake frowned. "Think we'll win?"

"Honestly?"

Jake nodded.

"Not a chance." Chance grimaced.

"Yeah that's what I thought too." Jake laughed lightly.

"If it's any consolation," Chance whispered. "I think you were awesome."

"Singing aside?"

"Yeah well... whether Cobain could really sing all that well is still kind of a debate for most anyway." Chance winked.

"Thanks." Jake mock-pouted.

It came as no surprise that they didn't even come close to winning. But it was fun. That's what mattered. And it ruffled a few feathers.

* * *

"So what are doing for spring break?" Jason leaned against the locker beside Jake's.

"Probably just work." Jake frowned. "With the latest attacks on the city, the shop is kind of busy fixing busted Enforcer vehicals."

"Bummer." Jason sounded deflated.

"Why? What are you doing?" Jake asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Ah.. there were a couple of parties happening. I thought maybe you'd want to crash at my place."

Jake glared. "You know I can't, Jason."

"You're really no fun anymore. You know that, right? I mean, you stopped ditching history. I don't even see you anymore except between classes. Who are you even hanging out with these days?" Jason huffed out.

"Well, considering every time I turn around..." Jake paused and looked over his shoulder for effect. "There... by the water fountain... you see her?"

"Miranda?" Jason arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It's like I can't get rid of her." Jake whispered. "She even has my lunch somehow." He sighed. "On top of it, you know I have Andrew and Trevor in my classes, right?"

Jason nodded.

"It's like they are trying twice as hard to start some kind of, I don't know, altercation." Jake closed his locker and let his head rest against the cold metal. "I'm kind of just looking forward to not having anything to do except help Chance fix cars for a week." 'And take down a villain or two,' he thought. His eyes traveled passed Miranda to a line of windows overlooking a courtyard maintained by the science wing. Rain pelted the recently planted botany projects and wind twisted the trees mercilessly.

"It's supposed to storm like that for most of the weekend too." Jason frowned. "My mom was going to take us to the beach. But if the weather doesn't change, we probably won't get to do anything."

"I'm not really big on vacations." Jake scrunched up his nose. The bell rang. "I'll see ya."

"Yeah." Jason sighed and they parted ways.

"Good news, everyone." Mr. Frost said in his deep monotone once the final bell rang and everyone was seated. "Pop quiz."

Jake paused in removing his book from his bag and sighed. "Yaay..." He muttered and leaned back in his seat. Mr. Frost began passing out the quiz. It was four pages long. "This isn't a quiz," Jake thought. "It's a second mid-term exam." And so first period crawled by in silence. Jake fought to keep awake as he struggled to pace himself so that he wouldn't be left with nothing to do while the rest of the class struggled to finish before the bell. Finally, he was at a point where he couldn't take it any longer. He finished his 'quiz' and turned it in. It seemed like another hour before the bell signaling the end of first period finally rang.

"Hey there little buddy."

Jake tensed up as Trevor wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "What do you want, Trevor?"

"I just wanted to make sure you made it to 2nd period. A lot could happen between here and the other end of the school." He gave Jake his best Cheshire grin.

"Yeah. A lot could happen." Jake grunted in disgust as he pushed the offending arm off of him. "Aren't you and your stooge supposed to stay away from me?"

"Eh you know they've got too much going on around here to pay attention to a little harmless goofing off among friends." Trevor grew serious. "We _are_ friends, aren't we, Furlong?"

"In the 'I don't need enemies with friends like you' sense, then maybe." Jake took a couple steps to the right to get some distance.

"Relax, _buddy_." Trevor held up his paws. "I'm not going to do anything to you."  
"Yeah right." Jake glared. "And that isn't Andrew coming up behind me." He turned to find Andrew as he expected. "So, what? You both going to escort me to class?"

"Nope." Trevor shrugged.

Andrew mimicked the action... right before opening the door leading to the very courtyard Jake had been looking at before Geometry and shoved him outside.

Jake cringed as the cold rain pelted him. "Aw come on!" He pulled the door to open it. It didn't budge. "You've got to be kidding me."  
He pounded his fist on the door. Trevor and Andrew pointed and laughed before walking off. And many of his fellow students did the same as they walked on by. "HEY!" Jake shouted angrily. "JUST OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" After nearly four minutes of standing in the pouring rain, someone had mercy on him and let him in. "Thanks," he puffed out before running to try and get to German before the bell. His shoes slid and he fell face first on the floor. A small chorus of laughter erupted from a group of girls lingering outside one of the restrooms. "I'm good..." Jake said, more to reassure himself as he scrambled to his feet.

Frau Schuman looked up as her door opened and a drenched, copper furred teen slipped in. "You are late, Jacob." She narrowed her eyes at the wet clothing dripping on her floor. "I expect to see you in detention after school."

Jake's shoulders sagged and he dropped into his seat before removing his book and notebook from his soaked backpack. Not long after his teacher's attention was directed back on the lesson, a fiki-football was flicked at his head. Jake picked up the paper triangle and unfolded it.

"Enjoy your shower?"

He glared at Trevor, who'd been moved far away from him just a few weeks ago. "Fuck you." He scribbled under the rhetorical question before refolding it and flicking it back with gusto, wishing it was a blade. The air kicked on and the vent above Jake's desk began to blow out a stream of cold air that exacerbated the chill from the rain. "Knew I should have brought a jacket today," he thought, shivering.

Jake had stopped going through the lunch line, choosing instead to shove a sandwich in his backpack before leaving in the morning. He was tired of feeding the monkeys. Sitting in the hall outside the cafeteria, he removed today's ham and swiss and slowly pulled off bits and ate them instead of just taking bites out of the sandwich. As usual, Miranda sat beside him.

"You look tired." She observed.

"Yeah well... it's been a busy day." Jake mumbled, feeling irritable.

"Why don't you just kick their tails again?" Miranda asked, seeing Trevor and Andrew go into the lunch room.

Jake glared at their backs. "Because it didn't solve the problem the first time I did it." After finishing his lunch, he removed his phone from his pants pocket and sent Chance a message, informing him of his impending detention. "At least I'll get a break from this for a week." A small smile graced his features. "If I'm lucky, maybe they will get arrested or something over the break."

"Don't get your hopes up." Miranda frowned. "Not that it isn't likely. It just hasn't happened yet."

* * *

"Could you do that any slower?" Chance grumbled as he left the office after finishing up the closing paperwork.

Jake responded with an annoyed look and a loud sniffle as he purposely pushed the shop broom as slowly as he could against the poured concrete floor.

"I'm not kidding around, Jake. Unless you wanna go hungry tonight, finish it up so we can go." Chance snapped before heading up the stairs to their home.

"I don't understand why you need me to go to the store with you." Jake grumbled. "And this floor isn't even really dirty." Irritable and tired, he finished up what he was asked to do and went to join Chance inside.

"Done?" Chance asked, a frustrated lilt in his voice.

"What is up with you?" Jake snapped, not really feeling being patient. His friend and guardian had been so moody lately. And, after getting a nice cold shower, detention and the general feeling of crappiness to start his spring break, he just couldn't leave it alone.

"You're the one with the attitude, Jake. Not me." Chance grabbed the keys and motioned for the door.

"Yeah. Well forgive me for not being in a good mood after a really shitty day. At least I told you what happened. The least you could do is return the favor." Jake dropped defiantly into one of the kitchen chairs. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on."

"I don't have to listen to you." Chance growled.

Jake's ears flattened against his head and he looked away to disguise the hurt in his eyes. "So let me get this straight," he replied softly. "In this weird pseudo-father-son relationship thing we have, I have to constantly explain myself to you and tell you every little thing that's going on, but you don't? Is that how it's supposed to work? I have no other choice but to be an open book but you get to shut me out whenever the hell you feel like it?" Jake clenched his fists and looked back up. "You know what? Fine. I don't care. Whatever is wrong, you can just keep on being a moping, bossy, dick to me until you get over it." He stood up, the chair loudly scraping against the tile floor. "And you can go to the damn store by yourself."

Chance clenched his fists in a similar manner as Jake had. He could feel his temper rising to a boil but kept his mouth tightly shut. The kid was right. It wasn't fair. But he was an adult. Adults weren't supposed to talk about things that upset them. And Jake wouldn't understand. "That's bullshit and you know it, Furlong." He told himself.

* * *

Jake slammed the bathroom door shut and leaned against it, listening for Chance to leave. When he finally heard the front door open and close, he opened the medicine cabinet, pulled out a bottle of the most disgusting cold medicine he'd ever tasted and went into the living room. "Are you feeling alright, Jake? You're not looking so hot." He started to have a mock conversation with himself. "I don't know Chance. I think I might have started to come down with something after getting stuck out in the rain today." Jake shivered as he dropped tiredly onto the couch and unscrewed the cap on the bottle. "Oh okay. Well, how about staying inside instead of cleaning this dusty, damp garage that might make you feel worse." He scrunched up his nose as he examined the thick, red syrup. "If I'm lucky, this will just knock me out and I won't have to deal with him when he comes back."

* * *

Chance closed the trunk on the SUV and pushed the cart into the return area. The cool evening air managed to level out his anger a bit and he was already working through the apology in his head. Jake didn't deserve for him to act like that. As he started to walk back to his truck, a soft whimper caught his attention. The tabby narrowed his blue eyes as he turned, spotting a paper bag that was tied shut and moving on it's own. "What in the hell?" Chance looked around before going to investigate. He steadied the bag and ripped it open with a claw. Out stumbled a small, quivering black puppy. "What kind of asshole would do this?" He looked around for anyone. But nobody seemed to notice this poor abandoned animal. Gently, Chance picked it up. It's tail started to wag excitedly. "Well aren't you a cute little girl. I bet you'd make a much better pet than a snake, huh?" Tucking the animal under his arm, Chance threw the bag away and returned to his vehicle.

* * *

Somehow, Chance managed to get all the groceries and the puppy inside in one trip. Jake hadn't turned on any other lights and the glow of the tv could be seen through the doorway. Leaving the groceries on the floor, he took the pup into the living room. The coffee table was decorated with an open medicine bottle and crumpled up tissues. Chance sighed softly and set the puppy down, taking a moment to study the lump under a heavy blanket before reaching to remove the cover.

"Cha-ance, stop-it." Came a muffled whine before the tabby could even touch him. Chance looked down in time to see Jake jerk his paw back up from where the puppy had decided to start licking it.

Thinking that Jake was playing, the pup started to bark, demanding that the paw be given back to her. Immediately, Jake sat up. "What the...?" He looked down at the excited creature before glaring up at Chance. "You got a dog?"

Chance shrugged. "Yeah. Someone just threw her away. Can you believe that?" He went back to the kitchen. "I got you some soup. Feel like eating?"

Jake's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Chance! You can't just bring home animals. What if it has rabies? And who, exactly, is supposed to take care of it?"

"Relax. I'll take her to the vet tomorrow. And I figured it would be a joint effort kinda thing." Chance held up the can of soup. "Now are you gonna eat or what?"

"No I'm not gonna eat. Did you hit your head or something?" Jake wondered if maybe he'd taken too much and he was high. He had to be high.

"You don't want a dog?" Chance pouted.

Jake made an irritated sound. "I'm going back to sleep." He went back into the living room, grabbed his blanket and headed down the hall to his room. Behind him, the puppy chased the corner of the blanket dragging the ground. "Sto-op," Jake hissed and tugged the blanket, then huffed when the puppy simply jumped around in a circle and ran after him. Frustrated, Jake slammed the door shut before the animal could get into his room.

Chance watched the pup paw at the door and whine before quickly putting the cold stuff away and going to Jake's room. "Hey," he said softly as he opened the door. "You're really feeling like shit, aren't you?"

"Ya think?" Jake replied smartly as he settled between the warm blanket and the cold sheets. "Seriously, Chance. What's with the dog?"

"Nothing." Chance defended himself. "Someone obviously didn't want it and didn't care enough to at least take it to the shelter. And I thought maybe you'd actually want a real pet. Not something that's going to try and eat you while you sleep."

Jake looked from Chance to the puppy that was pulling a sock out of the pile of dirty laundry on his floor. "No. Instead it's going to eat my stuff." He sighed. "I never figured you for the KETA kind of kat."

"I'm not." Chance huffed. "Okay, maybe I thought it would cheer you up a little."

"You mean make me less mad at you for the double standard?" Jake glared.

"Yeah." Chance cringed. "That." He grew silent.

"This is the part where you come clean about what's bugging you." Jake encouraged.

"Callie isn't returning my calls." Chance scrubbed a paw through his hair. "She hasn't even called to have her car fixed."

Jake frowned. "You think she met someone?"

"That's the thing. I _know_ she met someone." Chance sat down on the edge of Jake's bed and flopped backwards, narrowly missing the teen's legs. "I even know who he is."

"Okay." Jake wiped his runny nose with his paw. "So who is it? Let's suit up and scare him off."  
Chance let out a snort. "It's T-Bone, Jake. She's in love with one of the Swat Kats."

"Seriously?" Jake blinked.

"Yeah." Chance nodded his head. "Seriously."

"Are you sure?" Jake wasn't convinced. "Because we've rescued her half a dozen times and so far I haven't seen anything that even remotely resembles love."

"It's little things." Chance didn't think Jake would understand. "Like the way she makes eye contact, or lingers when I'm holding her."

Jake arched an eyebrow. "So... okay." He furrowed his brow. None of those things were actions he associated with Suri. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." Chance pressed the heels of his paws against his eyes. "I can't do anything." He sat up. "What am I supposed to do? Tell her I'm seeing someone? Then what if she gets the wrong idea? She's our link to what's going on in the city."

"Then what about just asking her if there's someone else." Jake suggested.

"What if there isn't? What if she's just bored with me?"

Jake groaned. "Give me a break Chance. You have to choose something. Either find out what's going on or drop it."

"Shit or get off the pot, huh?"

"That's a terrible way of putting it." Jake frowned at the idiom. "But... pretty much."

Chance patted Jake's leg through the blanket. "Look I'm sorry about today. I shouldn't have acted like that. And you're right. It's not fair to expect something of you and not follow through with it on my own end."

"Uh huh." Jake watched him stand up. "It's okay. No big deal."  
"You know you're supposed to feed a cold, right?" Chance made an attempt to feel Jake's forehead.

Jake moved. "You're worse than your mom."

"This isn't happening again." Chance huffed. "If I have to talk to their parents, I will."  
"Or you could just let me kick both their asses and be done with it." Jake grumbled as he rolled onto his side, curling the blanket tightly around himself.

"I tell ya what." Chance smirked. "If we can't get it resolved before school ends for the year, then.. let's say, if something were to happen _after_ school, I might be able to overlook it."

Jake's eyes seemed to sparkle. "And I wouldn't get into any trouble."

"I don't know anything." Chance held his paws up defensively.

"Know anything about what?" Jake asked innocently.

"Now." The tabby opened the door. "I'm going to make you dinner. And you're going to figure out a name for her." He pointed at the puppy.

_**I thought it would be ironic if Kats had dogs for pets. Anyway, hope everyone is having a blessed holiday. Happy Solstice :). **_

_**Nyte Kat.**_


	33. Exposure

"Charlie, NO!" Jake snapped, pulling his shoe away from the puppy. "Ugh!" He stuck his claw through the newly-chewed hole.

"I told you not the leave your door open while we're gone." Chance said over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom. "You've gotta be at school in thirty minutes!"

Jake glared at the closed door. "No shit, Sherlock." He tossed the shoe down and went to his dresser, hoping there was something clean in one of the drawers. Chance had been adamant about not doing his laundry. "Stupid fucking Dark Kat. Why can't he cause trouble during the afternoon instead of 2 in the morning?" Jake pulled open his underwear drawer and frowned. He hated wearing briefs. But that was all he had in his drawer. "Great. This is _not_ going to be a good day."

Chance found Jake standing in the living room looking at the shadowbox containing the Solo & Ensemble awards. "Ready to go?"  
"Yeah." Jake sighed. "So you're talking to Mrs. Catsby today?"

"Yep." Chance grabbed his keys and crammed on a hat.

"Awesome." Jake sounded sarcastic, but, truthfully, he hoped Chance would make some progress. He was getting really tired of being shoved into lockers and having things thrown at him. "I've got more bruises from those two pricks than from fighting crime," he thought bitterly.

The short drive to school was quiet. Chance was trying to figure out what he was going to say to the principal and Jake was trying not to fall asleep, unsuccessfully. He jerked upright when the car stopped. "What if I went home sick today?" Jake gave his guardian a hopeful look.

"Don't you have exams coming up?" Chance replied as he got out.

"Right. Do you need me? Because I need to run to my locker."

Chance shook his head. "If I do, I'm sure she'll page your teacher."

"Right. See ya." Jake mock saluted the tabby and went one direction while Chance went the other.

Mrs. Catsby was just coming out of the office when Chance was walking in. "Mrs. Catsby," he stepped in front of her. "I was hoping I could talk to you about Jake."

The busy principal looked confused.

"Jake Furlong..." Chance added. "Boy-genius that got kicked out of the Enforcers..."

"Oh... right." She looked embarrassed. "Certainly Mr. Furlong..."

"Chance."

"Chance. Let's go back into my office." She turned around and went back through the glass doors. "Could you have these sent out?" She said to the secretary before going down the long hall to her own office. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, Jake's been having some problems with a couple of students. They've already provoked one fight with him this year and were supposed to stay away from him but no one seems to be enforcing that." Chance sat down in one of the chairs.

Mrs. Catsby sighed. "Trevor Fulton and Andrew Pinkerton."

* * *

Jake had just spotted Jason when something with the force of a truck shoved him against the lockers. "UNHG!" He groaned out when the latch dug into his arm. Before he could turn to face his usual attackers, his ears caught the 'shink' of a knife coming open. "Wai...!" He tried to stop Andrew before he sliced through the belt holding his pants up. They fell just enough for Trevor, and whoever else was nearby, to recognize the tighty-whities for what they were. "Nice underpants, Furlong! Did your mommy buy them for you?"

Jake jerked his pants up and glared at Trevor. "No. But yours is gonna have to buy you a new face." He spat out.

"Oooh. I'm sooo scared of the wittle baby." Trevor continued to tease. "Here. Let me help you."

Jake threw his arms out to prevent the lockers from injuring him again, leaving himself prone for Trevor to grasp the elastic band of his briefs and jerk them up as forcefully as he could.

"GAH!" Jake cried out as he was painfully lifted up and then dropped as the bell rang. He could hear Trevor's obnoxious laugh disappearing down the hall and then Jason's shoes squeaking on the tile floor.

"Thanks for the help." Jake hissed between his teeth as he got to his feet. Awkwardly, he adjusted his underwear and his jeans.

"Hey, if any of us can take those two, it's you, but for some strange reason, you just keep letting them get away with this!" Jason bit back.

"Not anymore I'm not." Jake winced as he lifted his backpack off the floor and started to walk away.

"Where are you going? Your math class is the other way..." Jason pointed in the correct direction.

"I'm going to see Mrs. Catsby." Jake huffed out. "I'm done. If they don't stop this, then I will."

* * *

Mrs. Catsby was listening as patiently as she could to Chance's complaints. But he wasn't the first parent to have an issue with the behavior of students, and she couldn't spend all day watching two kits. The phone on her desk buzzed twice. "Give me just one second, Chance." She said politely before answering. "Yes? Alright. Yes he is. You can send him in." Now concerned, the principal rested the phone back in the cradle and sighed before standing up. "Jake's on his way in now. Apparently something just happened." She opened the door just as the teen was about to knock.

Jake had one paw raised in a fist and the other grasping a belt and holding his pants up at the same time. "Mrs. Catsby," he said sternly.

"Come in." She sighed. "And explain to me what just happened."

"What just happened," Jake shut the door behind him and dropped the cut belt onto her desk and turned so that Chance could see his back. "Am I bleeding? Because I'm pretty sure I felt _Andrew's knife_ cut my back when he got my belt so he could pants me in front of half the school."

Chance ghosted his paw over the small of Jake's back, finding a small nick in the flesh. "Yeah. It's not bad though."

"He had a knife? Are you sure?" Mrs. Catsby was looking for herself.

"Yeah." Jake turned around and jerked up his sleeve. "And this is where those punks slammed me into the lockers." The already bruised and swollen scrape was still bleeding, though sluggishly. "Did Chance tell you they pushed me out in the rain the Friday before Spring Break?" He snapped.

"Not yet." Mrs. Catsby folded her arms across her chest, her tail swishing busily.

"I was getting to it. He spent half his week off fighting a head cold." Chance stood up. "This is what I'm talking about. He shouldn't have to deal with this and be expected to just tell on them. Either they are taken out of this school or the next time something like this happens, he's allowed to defend himself without the risk of being punished."

"Alright." Mrs. Catsby sighed. "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to contact their parents and have them come down here. Then we're all going to have a little talk. For now," She pulled a notepad out of a drawer and scribbled something down. "This is a late-pass. Go back to first period. I will call you up here when I need you."

* * *

It was almost second period when Mrs. Catsby had Jake paged. Since the bell was about to ring anyway, he put his books away and hefted his backpack onto his shoulder. When he got to the office, he was surprised to find that she'd actually gotten a hold of their parents. He recognized Andrews petite mother from the small courtroom a month or so ago. A stocky, tall kat wearing a work shirt with the name 'Robert' embroidered on it, leaned against the wall, shooting daggers at Chance, who was still casually seated in the chair in front of the desk. Jake felt his stomach drop. He knew this wasn't going to work. He just knew it. Maybe it was a gut feeling. Maybe it was the derisive snort 'Robert' gave when he walked in, as if to say "my son's beating up this skinny little twerp?" Jake took a deep breath and moved to stand over near Chance. Before the door could fall closed behind him, it was pushed open and Trevor and Andrew walked in, both looking like the proverbial 'cat that ate the canary'. Guilty, but satisfied. Nobody seemed to know quite what to say and the silence was stifling. Mrs. Catsby cleared her throat and stood up.

"Mr. Pinkerton, I'm going to need the knife you pulled on Jake this morning."

Andrew's mother inhaled sharply but said nothing as her son removed a switchblade from inside his boot.

"You _do_ realize it's illegal to carry these in and around Megakat City?" Mrs. Catsby took the knife and put it in one of her drawers. "This is your third offense and I have no choice but to expel you from this school permanently."

The tiny she-kat was visibly shaking and the whole room seemed to tense when she slapped Andrew across the face. "What in God's good name is wrong with you? You and your brother used to be such nice boys! And now this..._this_ keeps happening?" She took a deep breath and then spoke calmly to the principal. "Is there anything I need to sign or are we finished here?"

"I've already had everything drawn up. It's with the receptionist. You can sign it on your way out and then, if Andrew needs to retrieve any belongings, he has twenty minutes to do so." Mrs. Catsby bit the inside of her cheek as the two left her office. She'd expected a small, camping style knife, not something with a retractable five inch blade. The last two incidents had involved only a razor blade and something incredibly small. "Now," she drummed her claws on her desk. "Trevor, Mr. Fulton. I would like to resolve this without having to expel anymore students from my school. Could you please explain to me why Jacob is being repeatedly harassed after I've already made it perfectly clear he is to be left alone?"

"Hold up." Trevor crossed his arms over his chest. "You just kicked Drew out of school for having a knife. But Furlong here's skipped class a hundred times to smoke pot with his little friend Jason in the bathroom."

"I've already dealt with his skipping classes. And, trust me, Jake doesn't smoke anything. If you don't believe me, you can drug test him." Chance smirked, oblivious to the mixed look of shock and worry on the youth's face. "But that's irrelevant. That has nothing to do with why we're here."

"Mr. Furlong is right." Mrs. Catsby abandoned the informal first name basis for the sake of appearing fair. "This is about the repeated assaults on Jacob."

"So you're just going to ignore _his_ rule breaking?" Trevor's father interjected.

"No. That's going to be dealt with separately."

"That's bullshit." Robert Fulton huffed. "The only problem I see is that my son is beating up skinny little _she-kats_ instead of kits his own size."

"I'll have you know that Jake's a former Enforcer. He knows a hundred different ways to kill." Chance defended. "The _only_ reason he hasn't put your son in his place is because he follows the rules."

"If he follows the rules, why's he an _ex_ Enforcer?" Robert smirked.

"That's none of your goddamn business." Chance growled. "All you need to know is that the only things stopping Jake from taking out _Trevor_ are me and the school system."

"Well then let's let 'em have at it." Robert laughed. "Put up or shut up."

"Whoa!" Mrs. Catsby said loudly. "That isn't solving the problem and I will not condone that sort of vindictive behavior. Trevor, you come near Jake one more time and I hear about it, and you're out of this school for good. And if I hear about you, Jake, instigating an incident just to have him expelled, you're out of here too. Am I perfectly clear?"

"Yeah whatever." Trevor rolled his eyes.

"I want it in writing." Chance said. "I want a contract with both of their signatures, and I want a guarantee that it's going to be enforced."

"Yeah okay. But what are you gonna do about the drugs?" Robert glared at Jake.

"I can't issue a drug test. I don't have the authority to do that. But I can have their belongings and their lockers searched while on campus." Mrs. Catsby sighed. She felt this was a total waste of time.

"Okay." Robert nodded his head. "My son isn't signing a damn thing until you search those two boys."

"For the love of..." She muttered. "Alright. What's Jason's last name?"

Jake glared at Trevor. "Felino," he finally answered, his hesitance worrying his guardian. He chewed his bottom lip nervously while she had him pulled out of his class.

"You've got your book bag with you?" She stood up. Jake nodded. "Set it on the desk please."

By the time Jason made it to the office, Jake's bag had been thoroughly searched and his pockets emptied, revealing nothing, much to the disappointment of Trevor. "What's going on?" Jason asked nervously as he watched Jake putting his stuff back in his bag.

"Jason," Mrs. Catsby held out her paw for his satchel. "I've been informed that you two have been smoking weed on the school grounds. I'm going to need you to empty your pockets while I check your bag."

Wide eyed, Jason looked at Jake, who seemed incapable of meeting his eyes. "Ookay." He made quick work dog-earing his pockets and handing over his book bag.

"Check his shoes." Trevor said when the principal found nothing.

"I fucking hate you," Jason thought as he glared at Trevor.

"If you could please, remove your shoes."

Jason complied, smirking at Trevor when he held them upside down and nothing fell out.

"Oh that's such bull!" Trevor snatched one of the shoes from Jason and shook it, smiling when he heard something moving around.

"No, wait..." Jason made a grab for the shoe but Trevor had already pulled out the inside and shook out the plastic bag of perfectly rolled joints and a book of matches.

"Told ya." Trevor handed the shoe back.

"Fu-uck," Jason groaned into his paws.

"Wait." Jake could see Jason trembling. "Trevor's telling the truth. I did ditch history to smoke with Jason. On several occasions."

"Jake, don't." Jason dropped his paws. "Don't listen to him, Mrs. Catsby. He's just trying to take the heat off of me. Jake hasn't touched this stuff in..." He shook his head. "He just hasn't."

"Oh don't cover for your little friend." Trevor hissed. "I sit beside him in History. I know what that shit smells like."

"I didn't say he wasn't with me." Jason shot back. "But he didn't smoke it. He was just avoiding you." And everyone else. "You don't believe me, test him."

"Look," Jake said loudly. "I just don't want to constantly be shoved into lockers and locked out in the rain. And I'm not too fond of the wedgies either so can we just deal with this and stop trying to find things to distract from why we're here?"

The three adults and two students looked at Jake.

"You want me to take a drug test?" Jake looked from Trevor and his father to Chance.

"Yes." He knew that Trevor and his father wanted him to get in trouble. And he knew that Chance wanted to prove them wrong, but he wasn't sure what Jason was going for. "Alright." Jake sighed. "No one signs anything. I'll take a test. If I'm clean, then Trevor, you don't touch me. Ever. If I'm not, Chance is the only one who gets to kick my tail and then... whatever else has to happen will happen."

"Alright." Robert nodded his head. "I can live with that."

"In the meantime," Mrs. Catsby said. "Leave him alone." She pointed at Jake. "If I get one more complaint, I'm done. You're out. Drug test or not." She looked at Chance. "You will have your family physician do the test?"

"Yes ma'am. And I'll have her fax the results straight to you." Chance smirked, confident.

"Okay. Get this done ASAP. You can sign him out early today and have it done. I'm not touching this until I get the test results. Now, get out of my office. Everyone except Jason."

"Sorry," Jake mouthed to his friend on his way out. Jason gave a nervous shrug in response before the door closed between them.

Once they were outside and away from Trevor and everyone else, the pressure in the air seemed to change. Jake had only a moment to sense the switch in Chance's demeanor before the tabby's large paw connected with the back of his head. "What did I tell you?"  
Jake could only open and close his mouth in a feeble attempt to figure out the answer to the question while rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"I swear to God, Jake, if something shows up on this drug test... I'll keep my promise." Chance growled. "And I'm going to kick your ass so hard..."

Jake winced at the tone, expecting something much more painful than the firm smack he'd just received. Instead, he was greeted with the sound of the door opening and an impatient growl. "Get in the damn car." He did as he was told, holding his breath as Chance slammed the door shut after him and stomped around to the driver's side.

Chance pulled out his phone and found the number to his mother's clinic. Jake dug his claws into his palms, waiting for the tabby to explain why he needed a drug test. But he said nothing more than that the school wanted it.

"Please don't tell her, Chance." Jake hated the way his voice trembled.

"Give me one good reason, Jake." Chance hissed. The teen didn't answer. He didn't have one to give. "If that test shows positive. She's gonna know."

"Yeah." Jake kept his eyes on his knees.

Chance slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Jake squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Chance." It came out more as a shaky whisper.

"You're damn right you're sorry." Chance growled.

Jake couldn't help but cringe. He could feel tears building up behind his eyelids and found himself saying something in his head he hadn't told himself since before his dad died. "If you cry, it's just going to be worse. He's just going to hit you harder."

Chance shot a look at the teen when he became silent and recognized Jake's rigid posture. He'd seen it before. "Hey!" He reached across and gave him a shake before putting his paws back on the steering wheel. "Don't shut me out, Jake. That's not going to do any good."

Jake shifted closer to the door and looked out the window, but said nothing. He felt like he could feel all of his nerves in the tips of his teeth.

"Tell me the truth Jake. When's the last time you smoked it?" Chance amazed himself with how calmly it came out.

"Before Solo and Ensemble. A week or so before it." Jake answered quietly.

"So about a month ago?" Chance was torn between relief that it wasn't more recent and anger that it had happened at all. "Was it every day?"

Jake shook his head. "No."

"Are you lying?" Chance glared.

Jake winced. "No, Chance. I'm not lying." He deserved that.

"You smoke any other time?" Chance continued his interrogation.

"No." Jake replied. "Just at school. Once before school started."

"Why?"

"Chance..."

"I wanna know, why, Jake." Chance clenched the steering wheel tightly.

"What do you want me to say?" Jake snapped. "It was a mistake. I'm sorry. I fucked up."

"Damn right you fucked up." Chance hit the brakes harder than he intended for a stop light, throwing his arm out in front of Jake as if he wasn't wearing a seat belt. "Now I wanna know why."

"I dunno." Jake whispered. "Because I'm an idiot." He looked back out the window. "I wanted to not care about all the shit that was happening. About my dad and about Suri."

Chance didn't say anything and they fell into a long awkward silence until pulling into the small parking lot for Rita's clinic.

Chance signed Jake in and turned around to go back to the waiting area. He spotted Jake texting on his phone. "Jason?"

Jake's head snapped up. "Uh... yeah." He cleared his throat. "He's suspended for two weeks."

"You didn't happen to ask him why he told Mrs. Catsby to have you tested, did you?" Chance sat down in the empty chair behind him.

Jake handed Chance his phone. The message was still open.

"Suspended 4 2 wks. Dnt wrry abt th tst. Ull b fine." Chance read it slowly. "Why can't he use whole words?" He handed the phone back.

"It's quicker." Jake stared at the device. "You aren't going to keep it?"

"Nope." Chance slouched in the chair.

"Why?" Jake narrowed his green eyes into worried slits.

Chance shrugged.

"But..."

"Jacob." Lisa, the nurse/receptionist said through the open door.

"Go." Chance said when Jake didn't move.

Jake walked through the door and smiled nervously at the early-thirty-something she-kat.

"Getting a job?" Lisa asked.

"Nope." Jake said. "Where's Rita?"

"She's with a patient. This isn't something she has to stop what she's doing for." Lisa handed him a plastic cup. "Unless you don't trust me."

"Um. No. Unless, you know, you're going to switch mine with someone else's." Jake attempted to joke.

"Not today I won't. But I'll keep that in mind if you ever get on my bad side." She pointed to a small bathroom.

Jake shut the door and turned on the light. He leaned against the closed door for a second, wondering what was going to happen if he didn't pass the drug test. He wondered if Chance would believe him if he said he was never, ever high when the Swat Kats were needed.

Lisa was waiting to take his 'sample' when he finished. She put a sticker on it and wrote something on it before capping.

"So... how long's that going to take?"

"Just sit tight for me, okay? I'll let you know in a few minutes." Lisa pointed towards the door for the waiting area. "Like you don't already know the answer."

"Right." Jake chuckled nervously and turned around, feeling suddenly sick.

Chance barely raised his eyes from a magazine he was reading to acknowledge Jake as he sat back down. "Everything okay?" He asked, his tone almost upbeat, belying his awareness of the youth's nervousness.

"Yeah." Jake replied, sitting back down slowly, wiping his suddenly damp paws on his pants legs before shoving them into his pockets. It felt like an hour before Rita motioned for both of them to come back with her to her office. "I'm going to need you two to sign these consent forms before I fax them. I just don't understand why the school would randomly drug test their students." She sighed before closing the door.

Jake looked over the paper. "What's all this mean, anyway?" He hadn't gone to med-school, after all.

"Oh it's just a bunch of doctor's mumbo-jumbo. Only thing you need to worry about is this right here." She pointed at a spot on the paper where it read in all caps "NEGATIVE". "And that's all the school needs to worry about too."

Jake felt a huge weight fall off his chest and the knotted, ill feeling in his stomach quickly subsided.

"Oh honey, are you alright?" Rita was suddenly concerned.

Jake looked up, realizing how obvious it must have been that something had been bothering him. "I'm fine, Rita." He forced a smile. "It's just been one of those days."

"I understand completely." She offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm going to fax this to your school right now."

"Thanks, Ma." Chance gave Jake's shoulder a seemingly playful squeeze and shake. "I think we're going to head home."

* * *

Jake felt like he was walking on eggshells. Chance had suggested he wash his clothes and clean up his room, thought it was clear in his tone that it was really an order. His nose twitched at the smell of food and his stomach growled. Certainly his guardian wasn't so pissed off at him that he'd deny him dinner. "Maybe I should grab a snack when he isn't looking just in case." Jake thought as he crammed several pairs of jeans into the washer and reached for the detergent. He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat as the action required him to stand on his toes. "What I wouldn't give to be just three inches taller," he mumbled, cursing his just barely 5 foot height. There was a quiet growl near his feet and the sudden tugging on his pants leg. "Get off me," Jake hissed, shaking his leg to get the puppy to let go of his pants. His stomach rumbled again. "I'm totally getting a snack," he said as he turned on the washer and left the combined laundry and bathroom.

Chance had the refrigerator open and was rummaging around inside it, looking for something. Jake frowned. "Guess the pudding cup is out." He spotted a newly opened box of granola bars on the kitchen table and reached to grab one.

"Don't even think about it." Chance practically hissed, letting the fridge door close.

"Aw come on, Chance." Jake pouted. "I'm starving."

"I doubt you're going to whither away on me anytime in the next thirty minutes." Chance glared. "Is your room clean?"

"Thirty minutes?" Jake sounded exasperated. "_Chance_." He whined. "I haven't eaten since breakfast."  
"Neither have I." Chance reminded him. "I asked you a question."

"Just one granola bar." Jake pleaded.

"I'm taking that as a 'no'. Which means, my answer is also 'no'." Chance snatched the snack out of Jake's paw and took the box, tossing them into a cupboard; opening the one the teen had been planning on eating. He took a huge bite out of it and spoke while chewing. "Go clean your room."

Jake's jaw fell open in disbelief. "Fine." He huffed as he turned and stalked off towards his room. The door was already open from where he'd been taking his dirty clothes to the washer, but he couldn't resist the urge to slam it shut as hard as he could, turning the lock as soon as it latched, quickly opening it again, just long enough to put Charlie out. "Stupid dog." Jake looked around his room. In his opinion, it wasn't even messy. The floor was mostly clear, with the exception of some clothes he hadn't managed to fit into the washer and a really old desktop computer someone had thrown away that he'd been toying with. Sure it was dismantled and taking up a great deal of space between where the larger portions sat on the floor, and the motherboard and other components littered his dresser, but there was certainly room to walk without stepping on anything. His bed wasn't made, but, really, _who_ makes their bed anymore? Rolling his eyes, Jake ignored the mess and went over to his dresser. He picked up bulky cd-rom drive and tossed it into the wastebasket near the bedside table. His eyes settled on a framed picture of his mother that had been knocked over. The knots returned to his stomach as he picked it up and dropped onto his bed, ignoring the whimpering and pawing against his door. He wondered how much trouble he would have been in if she'd caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to do. Jake remembered her being more tolerant than his father.

He must have dozed off because he couldn't remember hearing Chance coming down the hall, and the loud pounding of a fist against his bedroom door spooked him much more than it should have.

"Dinner's ready if your room is clean." Chance's voice was louder than necessary.

"Not hungry." Jake replied defiantly, shoving the frame into a drawer.

"Bullshit." Chance said and tried to open the door. "Unlock the door."  
"I'd rather not." Jake stood up walked over to the window, sitting down on the sill and drawing a leg up so that he could rest his head on it while he looked out over the salvage yard. He looked back up sharply is surprise when Chance shouldered the door open, the wood splintering loudly as it snapped off the hinges. "Oh great. Now I have that to pick up too. Thanks." Jake hissed. "There's a key above the door frame on the outside, if you would have bothered to look."

Chance ignored the attitude. "So you'd really rather starve than pick this shit up?"

"There isn't anything to pick up." Jake replied, looking back out the window. "And you don't have any room to say anything. Have you seen _your_ bedroom anytime in the last week?"

"It's not up for debate." Chance huffed. "You'd think pushing my buttons would be the last thing you'd want to do right now."

"Yeah I got it, Chance." Jake stood up. "Now are you going to leave me alone so I can fix my door?" He hissed as he walked around the tabby to inspect the damage, spotting Charlie cowering in the hall, her tail pinned beneath her.

"Leave it." Chance said calmly.

"Okay." Jake crossed his arms over his chest. "You want me to pick up the clothes that aren't hurting anybody but leave the splintered wood and screws right in the doorway. Brilliant logic there, Chance."

"No." Chance spoke through clinched teeth. "It just isn't going back up."

"I gotta have a door, Chance." Jake glared as he picked up the larger piece.

"No. You don't." Chance pulled it out of Jake's paws.

"Yeah I do." Jake huffed. "It's called 'privacy'."

"Except that you lost that right when you lied to me." Chance pointed out.

"_When I lied to you_?" Jake choked out. "Chance, I told you everything."

"Yeah." Chance nodded his head. "You did. But you did that after you promised you wouldn't. Which means you broke a promise to me. Ergo: you lied." He jabbed one of his thick blond fingers into Jake's chest.

"I get it, Chance. I fucked up." Jake growled. "But if you're insinuating that you can't trust me over something this stupid, then maybe I don't need your trust." He pushed Chance's arm away and left the room.

"Hey!" Chance shouted after him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Wherever the hell I feel like it!" Jake snapped, not stopping for his jacket as he left and ignoring the black fluffy puppy chasing him down the stairs.

"Okay. So this is how we're going to play this." Chance said to himself as he checked the kitchen to make sure everything was off before running out after Jake, who was just leaving the shop. He ran after him, grabbing him by the arm. "Damn it, Jake!" He swore loudly.

"Let me go!" Jake attempted to jerk his arm free. When Chance moved to grab his other arm, he elbowed him in the face.

"Shit!" Chance cursed, letting go of Jake to touch his busted lip, expecting Jake to run off.

Instead, Jake only put himself out of Chance's reach and stared at him, shocked that he'd actually hurt his friend. "Chance, I..."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Chance barked.

"I'm sorry." Jake's tail hugged his leg, belying his suddenly submissive demeanor.

"Go." Chance pointed back at the garage.

"Chance.."

"For the love of God, Jake. If you don't listen to me, I'm going to hit you so hard..." Chance trailed off.

"But I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just trying to get you to let me go." Jake tried to defend his actions.

"No shit?" Chance growled. "And all I was trying to do is get it through your fucking head that I'm not just going to let this go! I mean, what the fuck, Jake? Seriously? Do you not get that I have every right to be fucking pissed off at you? Do you have any idea what my dad would have done to me if I would have got caught smoking? He would have ripped me to shreds! And I don't have a doubt in my mind that your pops would have done the same thing!" He found himself moving closer to Jake as he shouted until he was right in the teen's face. "But this isn't even about you doing something stupid." Chance's voice softened. "You broke a promise to me, Jake. And I take that pretty seriously." Forcefully, but far from the violence he was sure Jake was expecting, he cuffed the boy on the back of the head, as he'd done earlier that day. "You're the smartest kat I know, but you keep doing dumb shit like this. So how about using that big brain of yours for something other than the Swat Kats?"

"Do you still trust me?" Jake sounded so young just then that Chance had to remind himself that it was a teenager talking to him and not a seven year old.

"I trust you to have my six." Chance answered carefully. "But right now, you're a long way from me trusting you alone with your friends. That door's staying off. And the only place you're going without me is school. I wouldn't count on much more freedom than that."

Jake furrowed his brow as he contemplated this. "You said that the Swat Kats would be through if I..."

Chance interrupted him with a sharp laugh. "Well at least I know you _are _paying attention." He ran his tongue across his busted lower lip. "Nah. I think I'm going to hang onto that particular punishment for a while. Now can we go inside and eat without having another shouting match?"

"I really am sorry about hitting you." Jake ducked his head.

"I'll make it up to you downstairs." Chance smirked. "I could use a good sparring session after today."

* * *

**_Nyte Kat_**


	34. Son Of A

**_A little action to revive you..._**

* * *

Chance groaned into his paws, letting the Swat Kat alarm blare for just a few seconds longer than normal before running to answer it. "Yes, Miss Briggs?"

"T-Bone! It's Dr. Viper! He's turning City Hall into a jungle!" Callie shouted at her hero.

"On our way!" Chance said, his voice deepening to fill the role of the masked vigilante. He looked at Jake, who'd just made himself an after-school sandwich. "You have sixty seconds to eat that and suit up."

"Seriously?" Jake looked surprise. "But I thought..."

"I told you. I wasn't going to ground you from this. Now hurry up." Chance checked to make sure everything was locked up before going downstairs.

"Coming..." Jake said, cramming half the sandwich into his mouth in one bite and running after his guardian.

"So..." Razor paused to clear a bit of food out of his throat. "What do you think Viper has to gain by trying, again, to turn the city into a swamp?"

"Callie said a jungle. Not a swamp." T-Bone corrected while he started pressing buttons in the cockpit, preparing for takeoff. "Maybe he's trying something new."

"I guess we're about to find out." Razor braced himself for the launch.

As the Turbokat neared the city, a plume of black smoke could be seen rising from the streets below. "That's definitely not good." T-Bone steered to the outside of it.

"Looks like one of his plantimals ruptured a gas line!" Razor gasped. "We gotta douse that flame before it spreads."

"With what?" T-Bone furrowed his brow. Behind him, he heard Razor make a snorting sound and mockingly repeat "With what" under his breath.

"I knew this would come in handy." Razor pressed a few buttons. "Firing foam blaster."

"Firing foam wha...?" T-Bone watched as a spray of thick foam smothered the flames below. "When did you build _that_?"

"Have I told you how _boring_ my classes are?" Razor smirked. "So are we going to try and save the city from up here or are we going in after Viper?"

"Considering I haven't seen any sign of Callie, and the Enforcers are busy fighting giant swamp things, I think we're taking this fight to the ground." T-Bone landed the Turbokat on a rooftop across the street from where the fire had been... just in case. "Now how do you get in?" He noticed the thick spiny vines barricading the doors and windows.

"I see a way." Razor sighed. "But you aren't going to like it."

T-Bone turned to look at his gunner and followed his line of sight down into an alley. "The sewers? Aw Razor, come on."

"It's the only way." Razor pointed out, already heading for the fire escape.

"Right." T-Bone groaned. "Lead the way sure shot."

"You sure we're going the right way?" T-Bone asked, shining his beam into the dark.

"Positive," Razor replied, his eyes mostly on his Glovatrix's dimensional radar. "We should be just about at the..oof!" He stumbled backwards. "Why'd you stop?"

"I'd say we're there buddy." T-Bone pointed up at a ladder leading the metal door. The concrete surrounding it was cracked as more vines had broken through the foundation. Slime dripped from them in slow drops, making sick splattering sounds against the wet sewer floor.

"Affirmative." Razor muttered and started for the rusting ladder.

T-Bone arched an eyebrow curiously as he watched the smaller kat try to push open the latch.

"I think it's stuck," Razor ground out.

T-Bone chuckled. "How about you let me take a crack at it?"

"Sure." The teen removed his feet from the rungs and used the sides to slide back down. "Go right ahead." T-Bone took his place on the ladder. "We can always use that blowtorch I installed on the Glova..."

The door made a loud creaking noise as it opened slowly.

"What's that about a blowtorch?" T-Bone grinned proudly.

Razor's ears flattened against his helmet. "I loosened it for you."

"Sure, kiddo. Whatever you say." T-Bone chuckled quietly as he climbed into the basement of City Hall. "Looks like ol' snake puss did some redecorating."

Razor scrunched his nose as the smell of rotting vegetation assaulted him. And the air was more humid too, making his thicker, fluffier fur start to curl and frizz. There was a faint buzzing near his ear and he slapped a paw at the sound, drawing back a squashed mosquito on his palm. "Great..." He wiped the dead insect on his leg. "Viper is going to infect us all with malaria."

"Shh." T-Bone hissed, holding up a paw. "I hear something. I think the stairs are that way." He pointed in the direction of a sign that read 'maintenance only'. The ground was covered in some sort of sticky slime the color of mud and there was no shortage of strange bugs. "You know," the tabby whispered. "The bugs really aren't his thing."

Razor shook his head. "No. And neither are the reptiles." He pointed at a brightly colored frog that seemed to just be relaxing on a breaker box. "We need to be careful. The more brightly colored ones are usual poisonous."

T-Bone grinned. "And you said you weren't learning anything in school."

"No. I said it was boring." Razor retorted. Again T-Bone abruptly stopped in front of him, causing him to slip a little on the stairs. A large blond paw grasped him by the forearm, steadying him. "Thanks."

"Doors already open. We need to be careful." T-Bone pointed at the door held ajar by what looked like a tree root.

"Whoa..." Razor hissed as they made their way down the long hallway, glovatrixes at the ready. "Callie was right. It _is_ a jungle." Trees had seemingly sprung from the walls, their thick canopies blocking out the fluorescent lights, and vines hung down to the floor like ropes. There were birds cawing and some kind of screeching that sounded something like some kind of primate.

T-Bone sucked in a breath and pawed frantically at a spiderweb, removing its sticky strands from his face. Suddenly, something grasped his arm and pulled him through the trees.

"T-Bone!" Razor dove after his partner, ready to fire upon whatever it was that had just snatched him.

"Wait!" The frightened voice of the Deputy Mayor shrieked as she held up her paws to protect herself from the attack.

"Miss Briggs?" T-Bone glared. "Why didn't you say something? Razor could have blown your head off."

"I didn't want to risk you being seen." She hissed. "Dr. Viper is upstairs in the mayor's office. He thinks one of his mutants has me." She shuddered. For the first time, the Swat Kats noticed the rips in her clothing.

"Are you alright?" T-Bone asked.

She blushed. "I'm a little shaken up, but otherwise okay."

Razor arched an eyebrow at how she seemed to move closer and bat her eyes. "Miss Briggs," he interrupted. "What's going on? It's like the Amazon in here."

"Truthfully, I'm not sure." Callie broke her eye contact with the larger of the vigilantes and looked past Razor to the door. "I think he mutated some of MASAs findings."

"MASA?" Razor furrowed his brow. "Are you talking about the fossils they found in space. The ones proving jungle-like habitats on other planets?"

"It's good to know you two watch the news." Callie's frown deepened. "What didn't make the news was a break-in to their laboratory. The samples they brought back were stolen. The same night, there was another break-in at Megakat Biochemical. Several catalysts were stolen. From what I could gather, he used the fossils and the chemicals to create a jungle." She shook her head. "His mutations seem a lot more intelligent than in the past."

"Lemme guess." T-Bone sighed. "He's going to use his even smarter army of slimy creatures to take over the city and turn all of Megakat into one big swamp."

"Oh T-Bone." Callie gushed, turning to face the pilot. "You have to stop him. And get to the mayor."

"First," Razor intervened again. "We need to get you out of here." He aimed his glovatrix at the blocked window. "You think these vines can stand up to acid?"

While the chemicals ate through the plant's flesh, a high pitched screech seemed to resonate throughout the entire building.

"Ugh! What is that sound!" T-Bone covered his ears.

"It's the vines!" Razor nearly doubled over from the pain in his head. "I guess it doesn't like being burned!"

The acid worked quickly and soon there was a hole large enough for the petite she-kat to get out. "Go!" T-Bone ordered. "The Enforcers are out there!"

"What about you?" She gasped.

"We'll be fine!" T-Bone urged.

The sound tapered off as Callie escaped.

"You alright?"

Razor nodded his head. "Yeah. Let's go find Viper. I hope we don't need to do that again... at least not until we're outside."

"No kidding?" T-Bone went for the door. "You think he's got Manx?"

"Why wouldn't he have Manx?" Razor lifted his glovatrix paw. "Look out!"

T-Bone ducked but whatever it was he was bracing himself for was stopped by a pair of Razor's mini-missiles. "What the hell is that?"

Razor made a face. "A flying monkey?"

T-Bone grimaced at the splattered, furry mess. "Not anymore."

There was a loud screech and both Swat Kats looked up as several more mutant furry creatures dove at them. "Aw crud!" T-Bone prepared to fire. "This is gonna get messy!"

* * *

"Ssssssssoon the whole world will know my power!" Dr. Viper prattled on, spitting as he spoke in Mayor Manx's face. "Thissss entire ccccccity will be a sssswamp! And everyone will do what I tell them!"

"Right." Manx squeezed his eyes shut and tried to look away. The firm hold of the thick weeds wrapped around him prevented most movement. "The whole citay! J-just take whatever you want!"

Viper glared at the short, fat politician. "You really are a pathetic mayor." A loud crash and explosion shook the building. "The Sssswat Katsss!" He pointed at a pair of brightly colored plants. "Get out there and ssssstop them!"

"AW COME ON!" Razor did a back flip and kicked away the spindly 'arms' on the giant evil sunflower trying to impale him. The plant stumbled backwards, giving the Swat Kat enough time to fire mini-buzz saws at it, slicing it into pieces. "You okay, T-Bone?" He looked over to find his partner cutting himself free from a sticky web.

"Ugh... yeah." T-Bone landed heavily on the soggy carpet. "What was that thing? It was like a flytrap meets evil spider of doom."

"Well whatever it was," Razor smirked. "Viper pretty much told us where to look." He started to move forward when something moving along the floor caught his eye. Slowly he turned his head to get a better look, his green eyes never moving from the slithering object. Carefully, as it neared, he took a step back, then another. "T-Bone..." He whispered, his voice wavering.

"What?" T-Bone asked, picking more webbing off his g-suit and looking up. "Hey, what's wrong?" The look of utter panic on Razor's masked visage sent a chill up his spine. He narrowed his eyes, catching the sight of something brown and slick, gliding along the wet carpet. "Fuck," he whispered. "Razor, hold still." T-Bone could hear his breath hitching. "You need to stay calm."

Razor's eyes flickered from the snake to his partner, as if to say "are you crazy?" before going back. It seemed to lock eyes with him, it's tongue darting out of it's mouth, tasting the fear in the air. Razor felt the cold sweat trickle beneath his fur, down the back of his neck. His heart was beating in his throat, and he was barely balancing on the heel of one foot and the ball of the other, between steps, trying to stay still. It's movements, as it got closer, became to fast to track. It raised up its head and opened its mouth wide, exposing long white fangs and an equally white puffy inner mouth. Razor swore he felt his heart stop. When two small circular blades sliced through it's then, poised body, his legs turned to jelly and he dropped to the floor, breaths coming out in sharp gasps.

T-Bone kicked away the dead snake, using a piece of splintered wall to move the head. Then he knelt beside his young partner. "Look at me," he hissed, grabbing Razor under the chin and forcing him to look. "It's dead."

Razor nodded stiffly.

"Take a deep breath." T-Bone ordered. "You need to keep it together."

Razor dug his claws into the sodden rug and squeezed his eyes shut. Somehow, he managed to swallow the tight ball of fear that was overwhelming him. "Okay," he choked out. "I'm okay."

"Good." T-Bone held out a paw to pull the shaking teen to his feet.

"What was it?" Razor asked, his voice still high pitched.

"Water moccasin." T-Bone replied. "A cotton mouth."

"It was poisonous?" Razor couldn't help the tremble that worked down his spine as he looked around for anymore.

"It's dead." T-Bone reminded. "We need to take care of Viper."

* * *

"It took officials nearly 15 hours to clean up City Hall, and it could be several months before the Department of Health and Kat Safety deems it safe enough for workers to return to their offices." Ann Gora reported on the recovery efforts from the most recent attack. Jake sighed loudly and turned off the set before returning his focus to his notes. He had final exams to worry about. Just as he started to thump the eraser on his pencil against one of the rubber-banded brackets cemented to his teeth, the phone started to ring. Jake shot a look towards the door. "I guess Chance isn't going to answer it." He picked up the phone just as the machine was about to pick up. "Hello?"

"Is this Jake?"

Jake blinked in surprise. "Callie?" She hadn't called in weeks.

"Is Chance around?"  
"Sure thing. Hang on." Jake sat the phone down next to the cradle and ran downstairs. "Hey Chance! Where are ya?"

"Kinda busy!" The tabby shouted from underneath a car.

"You have a phone call." Jake grinned, getting down on his knees to peer at Chance. "It's Callie."

"And she doesn't need a tow?" Chance huffed out, skeptical.

"I don't think so." Jake frowned. He hadn't asked. "She didn't sound urgent."

"Alright. Tell her I'm coming." Chance started to move out from under the sedan.

Jake jogged back up the stairs and picked the phone back up. "Callie?" He asked to make sure she was still there.

"I'm here." She sounded nervous.

"Okay. He should be picking up any sec..."

"I got it, Jake." Chance's voice was a bit more gruff than he'd intended.

"Okay." Jake replied, pressing his paw down on the switch, making it sound like he'd hung up. He moved the receiver away from his mouth so that they couldn't hear him breathing.

"Are you busy?" Callie asked. "I could call back later."

"No. It's okay." Chance tried to push the irritation out of his voice. "So... still busy writing speeches?"

"What?" Callie asked. "Oh... um... no. No I've managed to clear up my schedule. I guess I just..." She trailed off. "I wanted to see if maybe you were interested in having dinner with me. I know I've just been caught up in other things but..." Callie's tone changed. She sounded sad all of a sudden. "Well I've missed you."

"Gee, I don't know Callie." Chance sighed. "I've got a lot to do around here."

"Oh." Callie whispered. "I see. Well, I was just checking. Maybe some other time."

"Maybe." Chance repeated. "Hey I gotta go. I've got work to do."

"Right. Me too. I'll... I'll see you soon, Chance." Callie said, before hanging up.

Jake hung on until he heard Chance hang up and then he put the phone back and went back to his studying when he heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"Can you believe the nerve of that she-kat?" Chance huffed.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, not looking up.

"Oh come on, Jake. I'm not stupid. You heard the whole thing." Chance crossed his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't..."

"Jake."

"You should give her a chance." Jake bit his lip.

"Are you crazy?" Chance huffed out. "You saw how she acts around T-Bone."

"You're jealous of yourself, Chance." Jake frowned. "That's really weird. Besides, you could always just ask her about it."

"Sure. And how do I do that?" Chance glared. "Oh hey, Callie. I was just wondering what's going on with you and that Swat Kat..."

"Something like that." Jake opened his book bag and pulled out a magazine. "I picked this up when you were putting gas in the car before school this morning." He held up the tabloid. It showed a clearly edited photo of Callie standing next to T-Bone with a caption that read "Deputy Mayor Carrying Vigilante Love Kitten."

"Seriously?" Chance snatched the magazine from Jake's paws to find the article.

"You should take her out." Jake sat on the arm of the couch. "Take that with you and use it as a segue."

Chance sighed loudly. "I can't believe I'm taking dating advice from a 14 year old." He tucked the tabloid under his arm. "And what are you going to do? Stay here and watch movies?"

Jake shrugged. "I could always, you know, go clean Rita's basement or something."

Chance narrowed his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you're trying to suck up?"

"Just call her, Chance." Jake pleaded. "I mean, if things don't work out, at least you can get it across to her that you're worried she's messing around with someone else... sort of."

"Yeah." Chance exhaled loudly. "I guess you're right."

* * *

_A few days later..._

"So..." Chance slid into the booth across from Callie. "I know this isn't as nice as I usually spring for, but the food's good."

"Oh are you kidding?" Callie smiled. "I love this place. I've been coming here since I was a kitten for their chocolate malts."

Chance chuckled. "Yeah. Jake loves those things."

"Really? I just can't see him with much of a sweet tooth." Callie pushed her glasses up her nose.

"You'd be surprised." Chance looked down at his menu. "Say, Callie, before we just keep acting like we never missed a beat, I got something I gotta ask you."

Callie frowned. She rarely ever heard Chance with such a serious tone. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Chance sighed. "Look, it just seems like, lately you haven't been interested in me. Almost like you're avoiding me."

"Chance, I told you..."

"I know. You said you were busy." Chance pulled the rolled up magazine out of the inside of his jacket. "But, I gotta tell you, I just keep feeling like there's someone else. And then I saw this." He flattened it out so she could see the cover. "It's kind of hard to compete with this."

Callie winced. "This is a complete lie, Chance."

Chance chuckled. "I kind of figured the part about you carrying a Swat Kat baby wasn't true." He cleared his throat. "But I keep seeing you on the news with this kat. And then this picture." He shook his head. "You just seem a little more than chummy."

Callie blushed and looked down.

"I mean, if I'm reading too much into it, just call me on it, Callie." Chance leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

"No, Chance. I admit, I have a little bit of a crush on T-Bone. What girl wouldn't?" Callie's blush deepened. "But it's nothing more than that. I need a tom that doesn't have to hide behind a mask." She touched Chance's paw and smiled. It quickly faded though and she pulled back. "The thing is, I really _have_ been very busy. And I just don't think I have the time for a serious relationship."

Chance looked down at her finely manicured paws. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"I... I don't know. We both just had so much going on... it was just easier to try and let us drift apart." Callie looked embarrassed.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Sit." Jake held the small treat in his left paw, which was closed lightly around it, and he pointed at the ground with the other.

Charlie cocked her head to the side and perked her ears upward as she leaned forward to try and sniff out the treat.

"No." Jake pulled the hidden snack away. "Sit, Charlie." He tried snapping his fingers. She let out a high pitched bark. He sighed loudly and dropped to his knees where he pushed her butt to the floor. "Sit," Jake said as he showed her what he was trying to teach her to do. Her tongue flopped out of her mouth and her tail wagged excitedly, making swishing sounds on the carpet. "Stay..." He held out his paw in a 'stop' motion. "Stay..." Jake slowly stood up. Charlie scooted forward and licked her lips. "Sta-ay..." When she obeyed, he smiled and gave her the softy meaty treat. "Good girl," he scratched between her ears, flopping them playfully while she wolfed down her reward. The sound of a car door shutting caught both their attention; Jake scooped up the puppy and went to the door. "I bet that's Rita." He'd been waiting an hour for her to get off work and pick him up. She smiled and waved at him as she waited for him to come down and unlock the shop door, her curly blond and gray hair getting tossed in the light spring breeze.

"Hey baby-cakes." Rita bent over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You ready to go?"

"Let me put Charlie up and grab my keys and stuff." Jake replied, turning to go back up the stairs, wiping the lipstick he knew stood out even on his dark fur once he was out of sight. "So what did you get him?" He asked once he returned, locking up as he went.

"I'm sorry. What'd you say, sweetie?" Rita shook her head, as if she'd been lost in thought.

Jake gave her a worried look. "For Chance's birthday. What did you get him?"

"Oh." Rita chuckled. "I got him something that belonged to his father."

Jake frowned. "Well... at least I know whatever I buy, I can't get him the same thing." He sighed. "I don't know what to get him."

"Now Jake." Rita followed him to her old station wagon. "You know Chance will love whatever you get him."

"Yeah I know." Jake let out another long sigh. "This would be so much easier if he'd just let me have some of the money my dad left instead of having to use my allowance."

"And you know that's exactly why he put that money in a savings account, so you wouldn't just blow through it." Rita harrumphed as she get into the car. "Now where are my keys?"

Jake arched an eyebrow and pointed at the ignition. "Looks like you left them in the car."

"Oh." She chuckled. "Silly me."

"Rita are you okay?" Jake asked as he put on his seat belt.

"I'm just fine, sugar. I've just had a long day." Rita offered a reassuring smile.

The mall was busy as usual, but Rita managed to find a decent parking spot near one of the department store entrances.

"So what did you get him?" Jake asked again. "Maybe I could get him something to go along with it."

Rita chuckled. "I am not telling you."

"Aw come on." Jake pouted. "I won't tell him. You know I can keep a secret."

"From me and the rest of the world," Rita rolled her eyes. "But from Chance, I think you'd have a hard time staying quiet."

Jake scoffed. "I can _totally_ keep my mouth shut when it comes to Chance." A display in an electronics store caught his attention. "Oh Chance would love that." He watched the demo of the pilot-simulator video game through the window.

"Well there you go." Rita pointed. "Why don't you get him that?"

Jake visibly deflated, his shoulders sagging. "Because it requires _that_ gaming console." He pointed at a state of the art gaming system... with an equally impressive price tag. "And I definitely can't afford that."

Rita gently squeezed his shoulder. "Chance wouldn't want you to spend that much on him anyway."

"Yeah. You're right." Jake tried to erase the disappointment he felt. "Besides, I'd probably spend more time playing it than he would anyway."

"He really could use some socks." Rita suggested.

Jake cringed. "I'm not getting him socks."  
"I'm just trying to help." Rita pressed her lips together tightly to stifle the grin.

"Wait..." Jake's eyes lit up. "I think I see something he will really like!"

Rita followed his excited gaze to a kiosk. "Alright, sweetie. You go ahead. I'm just gonna take a seat on that bench over there." She waited until Jake was distracted talking to the vendor to grasp her left arm and quietly hiss in pain as she slowly sat down. When the pain spread to her chest, she felt a surge of panic as she realized what was happening.

"Excuse me, ma'am." A younger tom, wearing a blue shirt with the mall's logo on it, approached her. "Are you alright? You aren't looking so good."

Rita grasped her blouse and shook her head. "N-no." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Dear Lord..."

"Shit!" The janitor abandoned his manners for a moment. "You got a cell phone?" When the plump she-kat didn't respond to his question, he looked around. "Someone call an ambulance! This she-kat is havin' a heart attack!"

Jake's head snapped up from paying for Chance's present. His own heart skipped a beat when he realized the shouting tom was referring to Rita. "Fuck." He ignored his change, pulling out his phone as he rushed over to her.

* * *

Chance nearly ran passed the nurse's station. His sneakers made a loud screech on the shiny, tile floor as he halted suddenly and back-stepped a few paces to inquire about his mother. "Hey can you tell me where to find Rita Furlong?"

"Are you family?" The nurse looked tired and stressed. Of course, they were a lot more harried in the city hospital than his mother's own little clinic.

"I'm her son." Chance appeared subdued. But he was shaking on the inside, scared out of his mind.

The nurse typed something into her computer. "She's still in surgery. She came in with her grandson. He's in the OR waiting room. Take the elevator at the end of the hall up to the 3rd floor. The OR waiting room is just passed the nurses station."

Chance managed a quiet thanks as he broke into a sprint for the elevator. He hadn't been able to get much out of Jake. Just that she'd had a heart attack. The boy sounded traumatized. When Chance paused just at the edge of the waiting area, he saw Jake, curled up in a chair with his arms around his legs and his face buried in his knees. A pretty young nurse brushed passed Chance and walked over to Jake, carrying a foam cup with steam emanating from it.

"Here you go, sweetie." She said softly, touching him on the arm. "You just hold onto this."

Jake looked up at her with his fur matted to his cheeks. "Th-" He hiccuped. "Thanks."

She put the cup into his paws, then placed hers on top of his. "If you need anything, you just have someone page me."

"Jake..." Chance really hadn't expected to find the teen so upset. After-all, Rita wasn't a blood relative.

"Oh." The nurse stood up. "Thank goodness you're here. I was afraid this young tom here would have to wait by himself." She walked up to Chance and held out her paw. "My name's Sarah."

"Sarah..." Chance swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "Do you... do you know anything about..."

"I'll go see if there's anything new." She touched Chance's shoulder; the warmth in her paw seemed to seep through the fabric.

"Thanks." Chance didn't watch her go. Instead, he slowly made his away across the large open area to where Jake sat, legs still drawn up, paws still wrapped tightly around the cup. Eyes downcast and ears flattened, making him look guilty of something. "You gonna drink that or what?"

Jake flinched, spilling some of the caramel colored drink onto his paw. He took a cautious sip, tasting coffee, cream and sugar.

"What happened?" Chance hadn't intended to sound so mean, but it was the only way he could stay calm.

"I asked her if she'd take me to the mall." Jake replied, voice just above a trembling whisper.

"You said you were going to help her around the house." Chance bit the inside of his cheek. "I thought I'd made myself pretty clear about you having to run _everything_ by me first."

Unsure of what to say next, Jake took a large gulp of the coffee Sarah had given him before speaking. "She was acting weird. I asked her if she was okay and she she was fine." He rushed out in one breath. "I walked away from her for a second and then the next..." Jake took a deep breath. "They weren't going to let me go with her so I said she was my grandmother." When he exhaled, it came out sounding strangled. "I'm sorry, Chance. I knew something wasn't right." Jake tensed, feeling one of Chance's large paws on the back of his neck, heavy but not hostile.

Chance bit back the urge to demand why Jake had dragged his mother to the mall. Reason won out against his emotions and he gave the back of Jake's neck a reassuring squeeze. They lapsed into a worried, uncomfortable silence that was soon broken by the heavy footsteps of a dark furred doctor.

"Ms. Furlong's family, I presume?"  
Chance hastily stood up, jostling the coffee that Jake still clutched as if it were a blanket or a coat or something else meant to offer warmth and security. "I'm her son. Is she going to be alright?"

"Fortunately, we were able to respond to her situation before she could lose consciousness. She's stable and conscious, though not fully coherent." He stuck his paws in the pockets of his scrubs. "The heart attack was brought on by a blockage in one of her arteries. We've cleared it though and we expect her to make a full recovery."

"Oh thank God." Chance breathed, dragging both paws through the light fur on his forehead and then his mop of blond hair. "Can I see her?"

"You can, but only one at a time." The doctor agreed before telling the worried tom where to find her.

Jake stood up to follow Chance but stopped when his guardian stalked off without so much as checking to see if he was coming. Unconcerned with the issues between family members, the doctor went his own way, leaving Jake, once again, alone. The teen looked down at his arm, where the coffee Chance had bumped had sloshed onto. The reddish brown fur had quickly become sticky tufts. Feeling anxious but unsure, Jake downed the remaining liquid and threw the cup away. Restlessly, he wrung his paws together while he paced back and forth between the waste bin and the uncomfortable chairs.

"Jake!"

Jake snapped his head up, meeting Chance's expectant gaze.

"Are you coming?"

"Y-yeah." Jake audibly swallowed. "Yeah I'm comin'."

* * *

_**N.K.**_


	35. Final Score

_**I just wanted to apologize to my readers. I realized during my proofreading that I tend to incorporate my southern lilt into my dialogue. I'm pretty sure none of you mind, as I haven't received any complaints. **_

* * *

"Jacob, what on earth are you doing?"

Jake froze midway through putting some of his laundry in the washing machine. "... laundry..."

"Not like that you aren't." Rita shooed him away from the washer. "You don't just cram it all in together. You have to sort it."

Jake blinked at the older she-kat. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Rita glared at Jake. "I keep telling the both of you that I am just fine." She huffed and put her paws on her hips. "I don't need the constant supervision. And if Chance is insistent upon keeping me here, then I will be damned if I just sit around and let the two of you wait on me paw and foot."

Jake couldn't help but wince at the scolding tone. "Okay but..."

"Now why don't you take that darling little pup out and play with her or something? It won't do her any good to get lazy and just lay around all day." Rita pointed at the energetic pet that never seemed far from Jake's heels before separating Jake's dirty clothes.

"But Chance said that I..."

"You tell Chance if he has a problem with anything I say, he can come to me." Rita glared before pointing out at the door. "Go. Get some fresh air."

Jake held up his paws in defeat. "Okay. Sheesh." He left the laundry-bathroom. "Come on, Charlie."

Chance snapped his head up at the sound of sharp toenails against concrete followed by heavier steps. "Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Charlie out." Jake replied, tossing a hard rubber ball up and then catching it to demonstrate what he planned on doing.

"You're supposed to be cleaning up the house." Chance reminded.

"I was." Jake continued towards the door. "Apparently I was doing it wrong."

"Wait." Chance grabbed a shop rag to wipe his paws as he moved towards the teen. "What do you mean 'doing it wrong'?"

Jake gave Chance an annoyed look. "Okay, well, first I was washing the dishes, but I guess there's some sort of rule book somewhere on how you're supposed to wash dishes because Rita made me stop and told me to go do something else because I'm supposed to wash the glasses first and then the silverware and then... I don't know what else she said. It was like some sort of long rant on the proper way to wash plates." He took a breath. "So I figured I'd clean my room, like you keep demanding I do a million times a week for who knows what reason." Jake took a moment to dramatically roll his eyes. "So I was putting some clothes in the washer and she comes along is all like 'that's not how you do it' and told me to go outside and play with the dog. So now I'm going to play with the dog and whatever problem you have with me not doing what you told me to do..." Jake pointed up the stairs. "Take it up with the boss."

Chance raised an eyebrow in surprise. It wasn't often that he was on the receiving end of such a frustrated rant. "So... now you're...?"

"I'm going outside to play with the damn dog." Jake hissed through his teeth before leaving. Charlie darted after him, oblivious to her master's irritability.

Chance shook his head before going upstairs. "Mom!"

"Yes son?" Rita asked, bringing a basket of clothing into the living room.

"What are you doing?"

"Laundry." She pointed at the basket. "Please tell me you own an iron."

"What do I need an iron for?" Chance furrowed his brow.

"Boys..." Rita huffed. "Well I suppose I can put them in the dryer to try and tumble out the wrinkles. You don't send Jake to school dressed like this, do you?"

"He's 14. He doesn't need me to dress him." Chance folded his arms over his chest. "You're supposed to be taking it easy. That's why I have you here. So you can _take it easy_. Instead, you keep kicking Jake off his chores."

Rita clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Why are you so demanding of him, Chance? I don't understand why you've got him doing all this stuff around here when he should be using this opportunity to enjoy being a kitten."

"What?" Chance stared at her in disbelief. "This coming from the she-kat that made me clean the house from top to bottom before even considering letting me do anything fun?"

Rita sighed. "Well maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on you, but I had to do something to keep you in line after your father died."

Chance winced. "You ever think maybe I'm doing the same thing?"

Rita looked away. "That's different. That poor boys father put him through hell."

"It was still his father." Chance hissed.

Rita visibly flustered. "That is not the point, Chance. I just think you should let him have a little more fun."  
"I'm not having this argument with you." Chance glared. "You want to baby him and treat him like one of your kittens, then you can do it when he's with you. But this is mine and Jake's place and we're going to do things my way when he's here."

Rita's eyes immediately filled with tears. "He told them I was his grandmother, Chance." She clenched her jaw and looked down as she sat on the couch. "And the whole time, I remember him holding my paw and saying 'it's gonna be okay, granma. It's gonna be okay.'"

Chance chuckled softly.

"What?" Rita asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Jake." Chance shook his head. "This wasn't how I pictured having a family."

"I imagine not." Rita felt the couch dip as he sat beside her. "Until you give me a grand baby," She put her paw on her son's shoulder and gave him her most sincere look. "I'm going to keep treating Jake like one."

"Mom." Chance smirked. "A kitten won't change the way you treat him."

"You know something, baby?" Rita laughed. "You're right."

"I'm gonna go see what he's up to." Chance stood up. "You," he stooped and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Take it easy. Please?"

"I am taking it easy." Rita huffed as he walked away.

* * *

"Drop it," Jake tugged on the drool covered toy, trying to pry it from between the teeth holding it without hurting the pup. "Come on." A loud piercing whistle startled Jake and distracted Charlie. She dropped the ball and excitedly ran in the direction of the high pitched sound. Jake turned to find Chance crouched and playfully scratching the pup's ears. "Maybe you should throw a different kind of ball."

"What's wrong with this one?" Jake bounced the ball against the dirt.

"It's too easy for her to hold onto." Chance stood up and went into the garage, returning moments later with an old football.

"She can't even get her mouth around that." Jake snorted.

"No." Chance grinned. "But it's going to be funny watching her try to get it away from us. Go long."

Jake gave Chance a disbelieving look. "You aren't going to throw your shoulder out or something, are ya?"

Chance pretended to be offended. "Just run, youngin'." He teased.

* * *

Rita's ears twitched at the sound of laughter outside. Curious, she stopped folding clothes and went to the door. Slowly, she descended the steps, feeling a bit winded at the bottom. "Just admit it, Rita. You're not a pretty young thing anymore." She scolded herself, taking a moment to recover before going to the door leading out to the dirt and gravel parking lot in front of the repair shop. Rita pushed open the door just as it started to rain and a loud crash of thunder sent Charlie running for cover. "Well now," She stooped to pet the puppy. "At least one of you is smart enough to come in out of the rain."

What had started as a simple game of catch and keep away from the dog, turned into a game of keep away from each other. Chance proved he had the speed to keep up with Jake, while Jake showed he was still the more agile one, constantly turning and moving out of the larger kat's grasp.

"Why don't we let them play?" Rita closed the door and turned towards the stairs. "Come on, girl."

Charlie barked excitedly and ran up the stairs ahead of the slower moving she-kat.

"That's right, youth before beauty." She teased as the pup pawed at the door. "I'm coming."

* * *

Chance and Jake seemed oblivious to the sudden thunderstorm. The tabby jogged backwards after managing to get the ball again. "You oughta consider playing next year, Jake."

Jake rolled his eyes. "You really are trying to fill up my schedule, aren't you?"

"I'm just saying," Chance lined his claws up with the laces and pulled back his right arm for the throw. "You're really fast."

Jake darted in the direction of the ball and jumped to easily snatch it out of the air. "I'm also really busy." He smirked, waiting for Chance to run towards him.

"You could balance the music and all." Chance replied, sliding in the mud as Jake moved out of his way.

"Maybe," Jake held out the ball to Chance.

"You done?" Chance asked, reaching for it.

"Maybe." Jake laughed, pulling the ball back at the last second.

"That's it." Chance huffed. "You're gonna get it now."

"If you can catch me." Jake dared, already moving out of Chance's way.

"What makes you think I wasn't holding back?" Chance asked with a grin.

"Whatever, Chance. If you were holding back, I would've kno..." Jake felt the air rush from his body as all of Chance's weight came crashing down on him in the form of a powerful tackle that had them both in the dirt-turned-mud. "God you're heavy," Jake wheezed, rolling to keep the ball away from the tabby.

Using his legs to grapple, Chance got his paws around the ball just as a car honked behind them. "Shit," the tabby cursed and got slowly to his feet. "Forgot we were still open for a couple of hours." He waved a muddy paw at the older tom. "I'll be right with you sir." Then he held out a paw to help Jake to his feet. "Take your shoes off before you go inside. Or Ma'll rip your ears off." Chance mussed Jake's hair with his paw, shaking out some of the rain water and mud. He tucked the muddy ball under his arm and walked towards his customer. "Sorry about that, sir."

The older tom looked mildly amused. "Good day for some football." He said in a gravely voice and smiled. "Used to love to play with my friends when it was like this."

* * *

A delicious, intoxicating smell reached Jake's nose a good ten minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He reached an arm out from under the blankets to the spot where Charlie liked to lay and found it empty and slightly cold, meaning she'd been gone for a while. He felt his stomach growl and he inhaled deeply the smell of bacon. Remembering Rita was staying with them, Jake slid on a pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt before going to the bathroom. When he finished, he found Chance's mother standing in front of the stove, her pink fluffy bathrobe tied tightly around her, her floral sleeping gown brushing her blond furred ankles and just touching the edges of her matching slippers. Jake's eyes widened at the stack of pancakes on a platter and then the mound of perfectly cooked bacon draining on a plate covered in paper towels.

"Good morning, sweetie." She purred, hearing Jake walk up behind her. "Did you get enough sleep? Chance said you had final exams today."  
"Uh huh." Jake eyed the food hungrily. "You made us breakfast? I could have just had some cereal."

"Jacob! Don't you know that you're supposed to have a nice big breakfast before you take a big test?" Rita scolded. "Now how do you want your eggs?"

"Scrambled." Jake gave her a hopeful smile. He heard Chance coming up the stairs, his steps muffled suddenly by Charlie's barking. When Chance opened the door, Jake threw his arms around Rita. "Can we keep her, Chance? Please?"

Chance rolled his eyes at the teen's antics. "You better let her go before she burns you with the bacon grease."

"But she's so awesome." Jake continued. "Look at all this food!"

Chance frowned. "You act like I never make breakfast."

"Instant oatmeal in the microwave is not 'making breakfast'," Jake pointed out, letting go of Rita and going to sit at the table. "What are you doing up?"

Chance had decided to let his mother have his bed and he'd been sleeping on the couch. "Ah I heard her get up and then Charlie came running in here and was about to start yapping, so I figured I'd feed her and take her out before she woke you up too." He rolled his right shoulder before opening up the paper.

"Is your shoulder okay? After that beating you took yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if..." Jake flinched as Chance threatened to whack him with the sports section.

"Alright boys," Rita carried the plates of pancakes and bacon to the table. "Did you wash your paws?"

"You heard her, Jake." Chance said, standing up and going to the sink.

Jake followed suit, quickly scrubbing his paws under the faucet before sitting back down. Rita set a plate with a mound of scrambled eggs and two slices of toast in front of him. "There ya go, sugar." Then she set another plate in front of Chance. "Two over easy and one sunny side up." Rita gave his cheek a quick pat. "Thanks, ma." Chance rubbed his paws together excitedly. "Can you grab the ketchup out of the fridge, please?"

"Sure. You want something, Jake?"

Jake bit his lip, turning in his chair to see the contents of the fridge while it was open. "Hot sauce?"

Rita made a snorting sound as she pulled both condiments from the refrigerator and set them on the table. "Thanks," both toms said simultaneously before piling pancakes on their plates.

"So one more week of school, huh?" Chance asked as he got into the driver's seat of the SUV.

"Yep." Jake helped Charlie get into his side, where she clumsily climbed into his lap, before shutting the door. He rolled his window down enough for her to get fresh air without being able to jump out.

"I can't believe they put all four of your exams on the same day. Didn't they split it up last semester?"

"Yeah. It was 1st and 3rd one day and 2nd and 4th the next." Jake made a face and pulled down the visor to use the vanity mirror. He felt a piece of bacon caught in his braces.

"Nervous?"

Jake gave Chance a look, as if to say 'you're asking me an awful lot of questions this morning'. "Not really." He frowned. "A little worried about German. And _maybe_ History. But that's just because Mr. Culberth can be pretty unpredictable when it comes to tests. The other two..." Jake shrugged. "Geometry is really a waste of my time. Apparently, someone told me that last year, if you kept an 'A' all year, you were exempt from finals, but they decided to change it this year. And then for Music Comp, I have an exam on theory, and then he wants me to play a C Scale followed by a portion of Chopin's Prelude in D Minor." He looked worried for a moment. "I just don't know which part it's going to be."

"So that's why you've been killing me with the classical music?" Chance teased.

"Hey," Jake made a defensive gesture. "I was trying to get him to let me play some Iron Maiden or something. But someone complained about what kind of music was being performed by 'kittens'." He grinned. "Something about kits playing Nirvana."

Chance rolled his eyes. "Jeez. What is it? The fifties?"

Jake gave him a confused look.

"Ah, back when my mom was a teen, she said that rock and roll and dancing were considered sinful. She said that it was actually a big deal when they had rock music at their prom." Chance explained.

Jake arched an eyebrow. "So, um, what, uh... they had rock back then?"

Chance laughed. "Ask her that to her face and see what she says?"

"So what was it? Like _**Grease**_ or _**West Side Story**_?"

"Those didn't come out until much later." Chance made a face. "Well I don't know about _**West Side Story**_, but _**Grease **_came out right before I was born."

Jake gave Chance a disbelieving look. "Come on, Chance, you aren't _that_ old."

Chance huffed. "I'll be 30 next week."

Jake's mouth formed a silent 'oh'. "Well, I mean, thirty isn't that old really. When you think about it. I mean, they don't even really make 'Over The Hill' gag gifts anymore for 30."

Chance glared at Jake.

"And it's more like, you're as young as you feel, ya know?" Jake rambled on.

"You wanna put down the shovel, there, kiddo?" Chance maintained his glare.

"Sorry." Jake looked sheepish. "You know, technically, if you were a promiscuous teenager, you could be old enough to be my dad."

Chance shook his head, stopping at the designated student drop off area. "Get out."

Jake looked out the window at the large school. "Just one more week."

"Yep. Summer vacation for you and middle age for me." Chance reminded. "Not exactly a fair trade in my opinion. Now go, before you're late."

"Yeah. See ya, _Dad_." Jake slid out of the vehicle, making sure that Charlie didn't follow him, and shooting Chance a playful grin before hurrying into the building.

Chance rolled his eyes at the jest, but couldn't help the smile that stayed on his face for the trip back home... back to work.

* * *

Jake pulled his paws into the sleeves of his hooded sweat shirt and shot a glare at the teacher reading a book at his desk. It had to be twenty degrees in there! "And it's, like, 90 outside," he thought, his gaze drifting to the window and the sun shining in. He was finished with his exam. There was still an hour and a half left before the period was over. Jake could feel restlessness sinking in. He bounced one of his legs anxiously, causing the change he had in one of his pockets to jingle. He looked around to try and gauge the state of completion his classmates where in. The she-kit with glasses and cropped hair and brown fur next to him was chewing fervently on one of her claws while she scribbled down answers and then erased them. Behind her, another student had his head in his paws and was mumbling something that sounded like the formula to find the circumference of a circle. Jake appeared to be the only one finished.

"Jacob, stop fidgeting." Mr. Frost snapped suddenly.

"Sorry." Jake mumbled before raising his arm.

"What is it?" The teacher bit out.

"Uh..." Jake cringed at the tone.

"Well?"  
"Can I go to the bathroom?"

Mr. Frost returned his attention to the book. "You know that is out of the question during exams."

"Well," Jake tried to smile. "Can I go get some water?"

"You can go to detention this afternoon for disrupting my class." Mr. Frost replied with something close to a smile.

Jake's own pleasant expression melted away and he slowly put his arm down. Finally, the bell rang and he eagerly went for the door.

"Mr. Thompkins will be expecting you after school." Mr. Frost said to Jake as he passed his desk.

Jake made a frustrated noise as he left the classroom. Not needing to go by his locker, he instead sought out Jason. "What up, homie?"

Jason's expression was sour. "Why are you in such a good mood?"

Jake shrugged. "That's a good question. I just got detention for absolutely no reason. I should be pissed. How was your first exam?"

Jason groaned and leaned against his locker, dragging his paws down his face. "I think I blew it. I feel like I can't even remember what subject it was. And then there's this..." He pointed at his locker.

"What?" Jake looked worried.

"I can't get it open. I can't remember my combination for anything." Jason let his head thunk against the cold metal. "My next class is open book in some parts. And my book is in there."

"You've never forgotten your locker combination." Jake lifted the lock and stared at the dial.

"Yeah well..." Jason lowered his voice. "I think I was high every time I opened it before."

Jake's ears twitched but he didn't reply. His thumb felt a keyhole on the back of the lock. He looked up and around at the kats and she-kat nearby. "Hang on a second." Jake grinned at his friend and walked over to a she-kat wearing some short shorts and a tight shirt, chattering loudly to her friends. Jake knew she was one of the seniors by how she was talking about graduation. Her hair was done up with a bobby pin holding some of it in place. "Excuse me." Jake moved into her line of sight. She looked down at him with an amused expression. She smiled at her friends and then spoke to Jake. "Aw, hey there little kitten." She cooed. "Are you lost? The elementary school is across the street."

Jake let out an exaggerated laugh. "Oh I get it! That's funny because I'm so small." He looked back at Jason and pointed at the girl. "She's a riot. Listen, doll," he returned his attention to her. "Can I just borrow your bobby pin to pick my friend's lock open?"

"_Doll_? Who says that?" She laughed. "Fine. Just don't break it." She removed it from her hair.

"Right." Jake shook his head as he walked away, embarrassed that he'd used a term Chance would have used.

"That's not going to work." Jason scoffed.

"Yes it is." Jake got to work moving the pin around inside the mechanism. After nearly a minute, there was a soft click and he handed the lock to Jason. "There ya go."

Jake went to give the hair pin back. "Thanks," he said to the tall blond.

She made a disgusted noise. "Puh-lease. You can keep it. As if I'd put it back in my hair now."

Jake watched her walk away and shook his head.

"You could have asked me. I wear bobby pins in my hair all the time." Miranda seemed to materialize beside him.

"No you don't." Jake frowned.

"You're right, I don't." Miranda chuckled nervously. "So... wanna walk with me to second period?"  
Jake shook his head. "We have to go in two different directions. I'll be late if I do that."

She looked disappointed. "Alright. See you at lunch."

"Yeah." Jake watched her leave. Jason caught up to her. "So... what are you doing over summer?"

Jason shrugged. "Um, well, I doubt much of anything. I've never seen my mom so pissed off. She won't hardly talk to me. I think she might drop my sister and I off at my grandmother's house out on Anakata Island. She said something about needing some 'alone time'."

"Yeah well," Jake grimaced. "I guess between finding out that her ex-husband is a killer and her son was smoking weed could cause some stress." He sighed. "Hey, thanks for taking the fall for me. How'd you know I'd pass the test?"

"You only smoked with me a few times. And then for like a month you got all depressed and wanted to be left alone. It had time to get out of your system." Jason explained. "I mean, there was a small chance it could have shown up, but I just figured it wouldn't."

"Right." Jake tugged his backpack up on his shoulder. "Well still, thanks."

"It's not a big deal." Jason looked away. "I gotta... you know..." He pointed towards his next class.

"Oh. Yeah. I'll see ya later." Jake hurried to his German class.

Most of his classmates were already seated, and Jake made it in just before the bell. He shot a look towards where Trevor used to sit and fought to keep the triumphant smile off his face. Trevor's classes had been switched so that he was on a different schedule than Jake.

"Kursteilnehmer des gutenmorgens. Es ist Zeit für Ihre Abschlussprüfung." Frau Shuman said as she handed out a thick packet.

Jake felt his heart sink. He really should have paid more attention during the semester instead of worrying about everything else. Second period went by much more quickly than first. Too quickly, Jake felt, because he wished he'd had more time. He'd retained more knowledge than he thought, but there were so many questions he doubted he'd answered correctly. When the final bell rang, he had no choice but to turn in the exam, choosing to take the SAT route by leaving questions he didn't know the answers to unanswered, and hoped it wouldn't kill his grade.

"Good afternoon, students." Mr. Culberth bellowed loudly as he handed out his own packet. "You will find that the questions are not in the same order in which you were taught this semester. Since you will have to stop in the middle of your exam to go to lunch, be sure to print your names on the top right away so that I can hand them back to you when you return."

Jake clicked out a new point on his mechanical pencil and took a deep breath, feeling better about this exam than he did about German. That was until the very first question was one from their trip to the museum. They hadn't even had a test on their field trip. Jake had thought it wasn't important enough to remember, let alone review while studying. "Shit," he thought. "How the hell did I pass this stuff in the university?"

Lunch came too soon and Jake used the time to review his History notes from the semester.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Miranda asked.

"I can eat later." Jake mumbled.

"Come on, Jake." Miranda sat beside him, her tray hitting the table loudly. "Or are you afraid you're going to puke like you did in English?"

Jake looked up at her teasing remark. "That was a one time thing. It won't happen again." He eyed her corn dog and french fries. "That does look kind of good." He reached for a fry.

"No." Miranda pulled her tray away. "You don't walk me to class. I don't share my food."

"You aren't my girlfriend." Jake made a face.

"You don't have to look so disgusted about it." Miranda huffed, offended.

"Sorry." Jake replied sincerely. "The lines kind of short now. You mind watching my stuff for me while I get some food?"

"Sure." Miranda watched him go before sliding his notebook over and flipping through it. She found a picture of him and Suri together, dressed nicely. "Orchestra," she mumbled before slipping the picture into her own bag and putting his notebook back.

"Thanks." Jake said when he finally got back. "So... what are you doing this summer?"

"As if I have time for fun." Miranda snorted. "You haven't received your summer reading list yet, have you?"

Jake shook his head, taking a huge bite of corn dog. "No," he said while chewing. "Why?"

"It should come in the mail. Expect to have at least 5 novels to get through and 3 very thorough essays to complete and turn in within the first week of school."

Jake swallowed. "That's bullshit."

"No kidding?" Miranda agreed. "I heard that Advanced English gets more demanding each year. I expect to have to read and report on half the library by senior year."

"Great." Jake sighed.

The remainder of third period and then fourth period slipped by a lot quicker after lunch. Jake left the music wing and headed for freshmen detention. He took a seat in the middle near a tom wearing a letter jacket that had yet to earn any letters or pins. His last name 'Fritzgerald' was embroidered on the back. Jake let out a tired sigh. It had been a long day. And, for some reason, he couldn't keep himself from looking at the gym bag at Fritzgerald's feet. Finally, his curiosity won out. "Hey," he whispered, leaning towards the tom. "What do you play?"

Fritzgerald looked up. "Baseball," he whispered. "At least, baseball when it isn't football season."

Jake nodded.

"You play anything?" The boy whispered back.

Jake made a face. "The piano?"

Frtizgerald laughed. "Geek."

Jake clenched his jaw tightly and looked up front to see if Mr. Thompkins was paying attention. The freshman principal didn't seem to care what the kits in detention were doing at the moment as he was standing at the door talking to someone on the other side. "Actually, I was thinking about playing. But I don't know when try outs are."  
"Try outs are today." Fritzgerald looked disbelieving. "I'm going straight to the field after this."

"Really?" Jake looked disappointed. After shooting another look to the front of the classroom, he removed his phone from his pocket. "How long are tryouts?"

"Until six. You aren't serious, are you? Do you even know how to play football?"

"Heh," Jake laughed, hitting send just as Mr. Thompkins returned to his desk. "Furlong, put the phone away. Fritz, keep your mouth shut unless you don't want to make the team for next year."

"Sorry, Mr. Thompkins." Fritz kept quiet for the remainder of detention.

* * *

"Can you pick me up at six? I got extra-detention today." Chance read the message out loud. He'd just been about to leave to pick Jake up from regular detention. "Really? Extra detention?" He couldn't help but think the boy was up to something. "I've got half a mind to show up and see what he's getting himself into."

"Give him a break, Chance. I'm sure it's nothing serious." Rita scolded. "Why don't you take me home?"

"You don't want to see Jake before you go?" Chance felt a little disappointed. It was nice having his mother stay for a few days. The house had never been cleaner, and he and Jake had never eaten such good meals.

"I will see you both next week." Rita reminded him. "And I have some things I need to do for work and then I'm going to have a nice long vacation."

"Alright." Chance held up his keys. "Let's go."

When Chance got to the school, he was surprised to find there were quite a few cars still there. "Guess they want to get those tests graded right away." He shot a look at Charlie, who was occupying the passenger seat. "You're already a spoiled little brat. You know that?"

She barked and put her paws on the window, and then continued barking. Chance leaned so that he could see what was exciting her and saw Jake... sweaty, disheveled, and smiling... exiting the school and talking to a kat the tabby had never seen before.

"See you tomorrow, Fritz." Jake said loudly before getting in the car. "Who's a good doggy?" He cooed excitedly, making Charlie jump up and down with excitement. "Get in the backseat." He pointed. She quickly jumped between the seats and ran to one of the rear windows. "Hey Chance. How was your day?"

Chance leered at Jake. "What are you up to?"

Jake feigned innocence? "Me? Why would I be up to something?"

"Extra detention?" Chance glared. "They don't give extra detention. It's either regular detention, more than one day of detention or suspension."

"Oh that." Jake fastened his seat belt. "I need you to sign a parental consent form."

"For what?" Chance looked suspicious.

"For this..." Jake handed him a stack of forms, stapled together in the top left corner.

"West Megakat City High School requires parent/guardian consent for Jacob Furlong to participate in any and all events requiring players of the WMCH _Tigers football team..._" Chance trailed off and blinked. "JAKE!" He laughed loudly before playfully slugging the teen in the arm. "You're really going to do this?"

"Unless you don't sign the form." Jake bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to remain neutral during Chance's excitement.

"HAHA!" Chance cheered. "You have no idea how excited this makes me."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Gee I don't know. It's kind of hard to tell with you."

"You got a pen on you? I want to sign this right now." Chance was grinning so widely, Jake feared his face might split.

"Okay but, can we drag this moment out a little longer? I want to remember how happy this makes you for when you see how _horrible_ I did on my German final." Jake said as he dug out a pen in the front pocket of his bag.

"Please." Chance rolled his eyes. "As if you could fail anything."

* * *

**_*tear* Wow I'm nearing the end of the first part of this series. *sniffle* I feel like my baby is all grown up and moving on. =*(  
_**

**_Nyte Kat  
_**


	36. The Chief

**_One more after this. I promise, there will be a second one. I planned on doing this in parts from the beginning. _**

* * *

Chance closed the trunk door on the SUV and looked down. "What the hell?" He touched the sticker someone had put on the bumper, direct center above the license plate. It was white with the image of a fighter jet and in large bold words, it read **NEGATIVE GHOSTRIDER, PATTERN IS FULL**. Chance couldn't help the loud laugh that exploded from his chest. "Jake must've put it there. Come on, Charlie. Let's go get your boy."

It was the last day of school, a half day. So Chance had closed up the shop for an hour to pick the kit up and grab some lunch before heading home. It was going to be a busy day. After work, they were going over to his mother's for dinner, for Chance's birthday. He told her that she didn't need to cook, that he'd take them out to eat but she refused.

Since it was a half day, there seemed to be more students getting picked up rather than riding the bus. "Jeez Louise." Chance hissed. "I fucking hate traffic."

Charlie panted in the passenger seat, stretching to stick her nose out the partially open window. Chance made a face as she smeared drool across the glass with her nose. "Aw, Charlie, you're gonna make me have to make Jake wash the car."

Charlie turned her head to look at Chance. She licked her nose loudly and went back to panting, curling up in the seat and making a whining sound. Worried, Chance turned up the air conditioning and rolled up the windows. Charlie made a deep choking sound and then another. "Aw come on, Charlie. _Please_ don't..." He winced as she upchucked her puppy chow and what looked like part of a sock. "... puke in the car." Chance sighed. The car was parked until the bell rang anyway, so he got out and went around to the back of the SUV where he knew there was a new package of paper towels. Afraid she was going to get popped for doing something bad, Charlie quickly darted to the backseat. "Don't puke back there either." Chance grumbled while he began cleaning up the mess as best he could. "Gross," he muttered. "How come you don't do this shit when Jake is around to clean up after you?"

Charlie laid down in the seat and looked up at Chance through the black lids partially covering her chocolate brown eyes.

"Yeah I get it." Chance glared. "You're sorry. I suppose it's my fault for not having the air conditioning on in the first place." Charlie looked away. "Way to go Furlong." Chance sighed. "Having entire conversations with the pet." He used a grocery bag to put the soiled paper towels in. Finally, the bell rang. It seemed as if students were waiting at the doors to be let out because they were immediately pushed open by eager teenagers ready to start their summer. Chance smiled when he remembered the surprise that was in store for Jake when he saw other kits carrying their yearbooks. "I bet he was so shocked when he got one." His shoulders sagged. "Again... talking to Charlie." Finally, he saw Jake coming out of the building, Jason on one side, Miranda on the other. All three of them talking at the same time. Jake had the thick souvenir tucked under his arm, along with a folder. In the other paw he held a soda.

"Hey Chance." Jake said as he opened the door.

"Don't sit there." Chance warned. "Your dog barfed in your seat."

Jake looked down at the leather, noting spots Chance had missed. "Thanks for the warning." He shut the passenger door and got in the back. "You knew about this?" He held up the book.

"Oh yeah! I wanted it to be a surprise. Did you find your picture?" Chance grinned.

Jake winced. "Yeah. I'm not very photogenic sometimes. There's a really good one from the talent show though."

"You get anyone to sign it?" Chance asked, moving out of the pick up lane.

"Yeah. I got a few kats." Jake shrugged. "They pretty much let us do whatever we wanted today."

"I figured as much." Chance shot Jake a look in the rear view before looking at the road. "You get your exam grades?"  
"Ye-eah..." Jake drew out the word. "Remember what I said last week about hoping you'd still be really super excited about me signing up to play football so that you'd overlook a potentially really bad grade?"

"Come on, Jake." Chance chuckled. "Really, how'd you do?"  
"No. I'm serious." Jake replied quietly.

"Okay." Chance didn't think he could ever match the tone of disappointment he heard from Jake. "Well let's hit the drive-thru for some lunch and then you can show me how you did when we get home."  
"Sure." Jake slouched in the seat, stretching his arm out to scratch Charlie behind the ears. "What's up with Charlie? She's not her usual hyper self?"

"Eh I think I overheated her a little bit. You know I don't like running the AC." Chance looked a little sheepish. "Apparently, she's not fond of the heat."

"Aw." Jake leaned down so she could lick his nose. "Is the mean old Chance trying to kill my puppy?"  
Chance cringed at the word 'old'. "Go easy on the old kat jokes, kiddo."

Jake simply chuckled in response.

* * *

"Alright." Chance said after sucking down a huge gulp from his milkshake. "Lay it on me."

Jake crammed a couple of fries into his mouth, sat the folder down in front of Chance and walked away.

"That bad?" Chance asked before opening it.

"Let's just say that it wasn't exactly the one I thought I'd completely blow it on." Jake looked out into the salvage yard. They were eating in the waiting room since they were technically still closed.

Chance pulled out the first exam. Advanced Geometry. Written in heavy red marker was a bold **100%** and a capital **A**. "Alright," Chance said. "That I expected." Next was the actual written portion of the exam from Music Comprehension. Jake had aced that was well. "Nice!" Chance exclaimed. It was more exciting that it was something new he'd done a good job on rather than something everyone already knew he was a whiz at. Then there was German. "Hey you got a **B** in German! Guess you won't be switching to Spanish next year after all, huh?"

Jake didn't reply. Instead, he braced himself for what came next.

Chance felt his heart drop into his stomach. "You got a **D** on your History final? Jake..."  
"I know what you're going to say, Chance. That if I would have spent less time ditching class and more time focusing on school then that wouldn't have happened." Jake sat back down on the old beat up couch. "I really thought I had it. And then we had to go to lunch in the middle of the exam and I took my notes with me just so I could be twice as sure that I had it. And when I came back... I don't know. It's like my whole brain just evaporated." He propped his elbows on his knees and let his head fall into his open paws. "The good news is that I've done well enough for it not to completely destroy my GPA."

"I don't know what to say." Chance shook his head. "I mean, you really just said it all for me. I can't say that you can make up for it because that's it. The year is over. But, next year, it won't happen again. For one, if you're going to be playing ball, they _will_ make you keep your grades up. And for two..." Chance cuffed Jake on the back of the head. "Everyone knows you're smart. _You_ especially know that you're smart. So I expect to see more of the genius I know and love instead of the moody, irritable teen that's been showing up more and more frequently. Got it?"

"Yeah I got it." Jake replied sullenly.

"Good. Now eat and go change so you can help me get some work done before we go over Mom's for dinner."

* * *

"Rita, _this_ is _really_ good." Jake said before washing down a piece of fried chicken with a gulp of milk. Then he dragged a large biscuit through his mashed potatoes and took a huge bite.

Rita laughed lightly. "I'm glad to have your approval, Jake. You better save some room for dessert though. I made Chance's favorite."

Chance's eyes lit up. "Banana pudding?"

"No dear, your other favorite." Rita teased.

"I have another favorite?" Chance played along.

"Lord have mercy." Rita sighed. "Of course it's banana pudding."

"Where'd you put the candles?" Jake asked.

"I didn't get any candles, Jake." Rita replied.

"Aw." Jake pouted. "I wanted to see if you could fit all 30 of them on a cake without it being a fire hazard."  
Chance flicked a green bean across the table at Jake.

"You sure you aren't turning three?" Jake frowned.

"Oh would you two just eat?" Rita huffed. When the two toms traded their talking and goofing off for stuffing their mouths, she decided it was her turn to speak. "I spoke with your Aunt Mable this morning, Chance."  
"How is she?" He asked with his mouth full.

"She's..." Rita sighed. "She's not doing so well. She wants to see us. So I thought it might be a good idea to spend a week up in Pawline Springs this summer, if you can manage to clear your schedule."

"The shop's no problem." Chance swallowed his food. "The other thing... well I guess I could just tell the Deputy Mayor that we won't be available. After all, aren't the Enforcers always going on about how they can handle it?"

Jake laughed lightly at the comment.

"Right. Well, I figured we could stay at your grandmother's place for the week. It could use the attention." Rita kept on.

"Is that the creepy old house with the graveyard?" Jake asked.

"It isn't creepy." Chance sighed.

"When did you take Jake to Grammy Furlong's?" Rita asked.

"Oh." Chance looked down at his food. "Well, you remember when the Enforcers dumped all that stuff on him about his dad..."

"Rita this is really good, but I'm stuffed." Jake interrupted.

"That's alright, baby." Rita resisted the urge to scold the teen about interrupting when someone was talking. "You just rinse your plate off in the sink and go get Chance's presents together. There's a small box up there from me. Would you grab that one too?"

"Yes ma'am." Jake said politely before quickly leaving the dining room.

Chance let out a low sigh and dragged his paw down his face, pausing it over his mouth for a moment.

"It's going to take time, son." Rita put her paw on his arm. "It might seem like it's been a while, but it hasn't even been a year."

"Yeah I know." He grasped her paw in his for a moment before standing up. "What do you say to me and Jake taking some of these leftovers home with us?"

"Take all you want!" Rita replied as she stood as well. "Lord knows I can't eat all this food by myself."

* * *

Jake found two boxes with tags reading 'from Jake'. He'd had to have Rita go back to the mall and pick up what he'd purchased after what happened. Chance just wasn't letting him out of his sight. She'd said she'd wrap them up along with what she got. Then there were two other boxes. One very small with a card taped to it. The card was actually larger than the box. Curious, Jake shook it. It jingled.

"What are you doing shaking my birthday presents?" Chance hissed playfully, causing the teen to jump.

Jake looked sheepish. "Sorry. Your mom wouldn't tell me what she got you because she thinks I can't keep a secret from you."

"Depends what the secret is." Chance picked up the other box. It was small but had a little bit of weight to it. "Wonder what this is." He looked at the tag. "That's weird. She must be still getting things confused."

"Why?" Jake managed his two boxes and the small one as he left the room.

"Says it's for you." Chance laughed.

"She probably just got ahead of herself wrapping presents. She wrapped yours for me and wrote 'from Jake' on the tags. Maybe she just got it mixed up when she was wrapping that one." Jake rationalized.

"You can bring those in the den." Rita said, turning on a light as she went.

"Right. The room with no television." Chance pointed. "Bet you've never even been in that room."

"I didn't even know there was a den." Jake smirked.

"Alright." Rita took the gift out of Chance's paws. "I hope you don't mind, sweetie, but I picked this up for Jake."

Chance gave her a mock pout. "But it's my birthday."

"And you'll be just fine." Rita patted Chance's cheek before sitting down, hanging onto Jake's gift. "Go ahead and give him yours, baby cakes."

Jake handed Chance the two boxes and settled on the couch.

"Does it matter which one I open first?" Chance asked. Jake simply shook his head.

Chance excitedly tore the paper off, drawing an amused chuckle out of his mother. The first box was smaller than the second, but square in shape, like it would contain a shirt or a hat or something. He used his claws to slice through the tape and then moved the tissue paper. A loud laugh erupted from his throat. "That's going up in the waiting room at the shop first thing." He pulled out the clock. It's face represented an altimeter that was off center; the red tilted almost 90 degrees to the right while the black had been moved in the opposite direction. In bold white letters, it read **BAD ATTITUDE**. "That about sums it up, huh?"

"Well, the really bad attitude starts to show about the time I'm going to pass out from the Gs." Jake joked.

"True." Chance smirked before tearing into the other box. This one did contain a t-shirt. He unfolded it and admired the graphics on the front. It was shiny black jet imposed onto a plain black shirt with blue lettering reading "This Is How I Roll."

"Right on." Chance laughed and pulled it on over the shirt he was wearing. "These are really great, Jake. Thanks!"

Jake's ears turned pink at the compliment and he ducked his head shyly.

"You know he wanted to use the money his dad left for him." Rita added. "But he ended up using the allowance money you gave him."  
"Even better." Chance grinned. "I'm probably going to wear this everyday. Hey, did you put that sticker on the car?"

Jake laughed out loud. "Yeah. I did. Did you just notice it today?"

Chance nodded.

"Jeez, Chance. I put it there, like, a week ago." Jake rolled his eyes.

"Okay." Rita interrupted. "This is from me... and someone else. Open the box before you read the card. I want to confuse you a little bit."  
Chance easily pulled the paper off the small box and opened it to find a pair of keys on a very old key ring. The leather ornament was cracked and faded to where whatever it once said was now unreadable. He held it in his palm, feeling like he recognized it from somewhere but couldn't place it. He gave his mother a suspicious look before removing the card from the envelope.

"_My Dearest Son,_

_When your father left us, life became so much harder to live. But now we've found a way to make it. We have a reason to hang on and to live each day like he would have wanted us to. He said years ago that he wanted you to have this. I was just so afraid to see you on it that I kept it hidden. But you're an adult. And you've shown me you can be safe and responsible. So I had it restored. Happy Birthday, Chance. I love you. Please be careful._

_Love Always,_

_Mama."_

Chance looked at the keys one more time. "What is...?" He trailed off and his eyes got extra wide. "The Chief?"

Rita ducked her head to hide her sad smile.

"No way." Chance shook his head. "That thing was rusted and falling apart when he was alive."

Rita simply shrugged. "It's out in the garage."

Still not believing her, Chance jumped up and ran outside.

"The Chief?" Jake asked.

"His father's motorcycle." Rita whispered, her eyes filling up with tears.

Jake's ears flattened against his head. "Oh."

"Jake! Get out here! You're gonna want to see this!" Chance shouted from the door.

"It'll be okay, Rita." He reassured before leaving the house.

Chance had the door open on the detached garage, and the old work lights reflected off the new baby blue paint. "This is my pop's 1946 Indian Chief." He ghosted a paw over the motorcycle, which was on a trailer, ready to be attached to the SUV, and held in place with tie down straps. "The last time I saw this bike, I was..." He thought for a minute. "Eleven. And all the paint was rusted off. It needed new carbs and there was a hole the size of softball in the pipes. It wouldn't even start."

"Well are you going to see if it will start now?" Jake asked, shooting a look at Rita, who was standing quietly in the open doorway. "I think she'd like to see if having it restored paid off."

"Are you kidding? Help me get the tie downs off." Chance said.

Once the bike was in the driveway, Chance straddled it and slipped the key into the ignition. He furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment and then laughed.

"It doesn't run?" Rita asked disappointed.

"The thing about this motorcycle," Chance said as he stood up. "Unlike modern motorcycles where you just turn the key and off you go.." He turned the key on the side and then put his foot on a rod. "You have to kick start these." He kicked the rod down twice and then the engine purred to life. "Crud, Ma. I don't think this thing ever sounded like this. Dad would be... he'd just be out of his mind to see this... well... like this." There was a crack in his tone.

"Aren't you going to take it for a ride?" Rita asked.

Chance nodded his head and got on it. "Just a couple times around the block."

Rita and Jake watched Chance cruise out of the driveway and down the street.

"That's pretty amazing, Rita." Jake told her quietly.

"Yeah." Rita pulled the other gift out from behind her back. "Listen honey. I knew this was going to be hard for you. And I just want you to know that, well, if you could have known Thomas, he would have been so proud of Chance for all of this. And he would have been thrilled for you to be part of our family. I guess... well, I just don't want your feelings to be hurt if Chance gets a little caught up with this. So, think of this as my sucking up to you." She handed him the box and wrapped her arm around him while he opened it. Jake's ears perked up immediately. "Rita, you didn't have to."

"The boy at the video game store told me that _everyone_ has one of these." She said.

Jake looked down at the box containing a brand new paw-held gaming system. "Thanks."

"I picked you up a couple of games too. And he said you'd need a memory stick?" Rita shook her head. "He helped me get all of that together."

"Chance is probably going to hate you for this." Jake joked. "That is... whenever he gets off his new toy."

"Oh he'll save that for when you aren't around." Rita scratched his head. "Why don't you put that in the car and go out back and play with Charlie for a little while?"

Jake nodded his head and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Rita. For everything."

"You don't need to thank me for anything, sweetie." She whispered. "Now go on. I can hear her whining at the fence."

Not long after Jake disappeared into the fenced in backyard, did Chance return to the driveway. "Mom..." he said as he cut the engine and got off. "This is the most amazing gift ever."

"Just do me a favor, Chance." She walked up to him and took his paws. "Please be careful on it. I know you do more dangerous things than just riding a motorcycle. But you boys... you two are all I've got. And if anything happened to you, well... I'm not the only one that would be devastated."

Chance nodded his head. "I'll be careful." He hugged his mother. "I promise."

"Good. Now let's get some banana pudding and head out back." She brightened.

* * *

Jake wasn't sure exactly what woke him up. He blinked to clear his vision so that he could see the time. It was almost 2:30 in the morning. He moaned tiredly and reached to scratch Charlie between the ears. She was snoring softly, making whimpering noises in between. One of Jake's ears twitched out the sound of glass clinking and he slowly got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of sweat pants to pull on over his boxers and slipped out of his room. There was a lamp on in the living room, and a soft glow coming from the kitchen, meaning the light above the stove was on. "Chance?" Jake called softly, seeing a tuft of blond fur in the corner of the couch. "Please don't be naked," he pleaded, remembering the last time he'd walked in on Chance late at night.

"Jake?" Chance sat up. "What'r you doin' up?" He slurred.

Jake's eyes widened. "Are you drunk?"

"No." Chance lied. "I'm jus... reminisc... rema... remembering some stuff." He cleared his throat loudly. "Come on. Come sit down with me."

Jake looked unsure for a moment.

"Jus' come over 'ere." Chance waved his paw.

"Okay." Jake sighed and cautiously sat down on the couch, eying a nearly empty bottle. It wasn't the crystal decanter filled with scotch that his father had owned. No. This was something cheap, purchased on a whim.

"What are you looking at?" Jake asked, feeling nervous. He'd never seen Chance like this.

"_This_ is a photo book from when _I_ was a kit." Chance leaned forward and clumsily pulled it onto the couch and put it between them. He licked his lips as he turned it back to the beginning. "Check this out." Clumsily, he jabbed his finger at an old photo of a burly blond tabby in a thick leather coat, much like the one Chance had purchased for Jake. A pair of aviator sunglasses perched on his head. "Tha's my pops." Chance smiled. "An th' rusted piece he's sitting on is th' Chief." He slid his finger to the chubby blond kitten the tabby was holding in front of him. "An' that handsome little tom is me."

"That was you?" Jake asked, looking from the picture to Chance. "You were kind of a fat kitten."

Chance looked offended and then laughed loudly. "Yeah! Yeah I was." Then he flexed his arms. "But I think it all worked out okay." He hiccuped.

"Is that Rita?" Jake pointed at a picture of a beautiful blond she-kat in a sundress. Her hair was wild and curly and she had a very pinup figure.

"Yeah. Lemme tell you, something, Jake." Chance leaned really close as if he was telling a secret. "My dad... he loved that she-kat. I remember, we couldn't go anywhere without them acting like a couple of love sick teenagers. It used to gross me out something awful." He scrubbed a paw forcefully through Jake's hair. "But I'd give anything to see them together like that again."

Jake's ears flattened. "It doesn't ever stop hurting, does it Chance?"

"It..." Chance moved his paw to Jake's shoulder and gave it an almost painful squeeze. "It's like a scar, kiddo." He slid closer to Jake and moved the album to his lap. "Like the ones your pops left on you. After a while.." He shook his head and moved his other paw in a wide sweeping motion. "You don't feel a thing. But then you catch a glimpse of it in the mirror. An' then you remember how you got it."

Jake bit the inside of his cheek as hard as he could. "That's probably the most profound thing you've ever said to me."

"Really?" Chance breathed. "Should I write it down or something?"

Jake couldn't help the strangled chuckle that came out.

"Did I ever tell you that I was about your age when he died?" Chance asked.

Jake nodded his head.

"Well I'll never forget it." Chance kept one arm around Jake but sank into the sofa. "I was in school. And we were learnin' about Egypt. My History teacher was smokin hot. I mean, like, damn. And she was making us watch this video on how they preserved the body. You know, mummies and stuff." He eyed the bottle on the coffee table but didn't reach for it. This was important. And he didn't want Jake to see him like this. "Then she gets a call over the loud speaker. It's the office saying I needed to leave." Chance cleared his throat again. "Normally, I would have been just happy to get out of school early but, I dunno, Jake. I just... I felt like something was wrong. And then I saw my mother. Her normally pretty face was just matted down and smeared with makeup. And she took my paws and looked me in the eye and said 'Chance, your father got shot down.'"

Jake felt Chance lean into him.

"I just..." Chance heaved a deep sigh. "I couldn't handle it. My mom was falling apart and I didn't know how to deal with it. I just started taking it out on whoever was closest. I got in so many fights at school, Jake. It's like... I just couldn't think about what I was doing before doing it. And my poor mom. She became this..." He laughed. "You have no idea how mean she can be, Jake. You really don't. But she was on my case every second of every day. 'Clean this house' and 'clean your room' and 'like hell you're going out with your friends'."

Jake winced.

"Yeah you get it, kitten." Chance laughed, breathing whiskey in Jake's face. "It's really hard to be pissed off at you when I know _exactly_ where you're coming from.." He narrowed his eyes at the teen, swearing he saw Jake's jaw twitch. "Your dad, damn, Jake. I mean... he was something else. I still don't know if I should hate him or not. I mean... up front... he was a grade A asshole. He treated you like shit! I mean, damn it, Jake. You got put through the ringer because of him! How much shit did I pull you out of in the Enforcers, Jake? How much?"

Jake cleared his throat. "A... a lot."

"You shouldn't of had to be there and take that. _Adults_ shouldn't have to take that shit. They should know better than to pull that crap on a kitten! I was gonna make them pay, Jake. But Feral... he held up his end of the bargain with your father. The ones that beat you up... they got time." Chance told him, jabbing a finger in Jake's chest. "But the one responsible for putting you in that situation in the first place? That bastard just got to keep on putting his paws on you whenever he got the chance. And then to say he was protecting you?" He huffed. "It's like he just wanted to keep fucking with your head after he was gone. And it makes me so mad, I just want to bring him back to life so I can beat the shit out of him." He felt a tight lump form in his throat. "Look at me, Jake."

Jake looked upward first, willing his eyes to dry before turning to look at Chance.

"It's okay." Chance said softly. "All this hurt he left you with, forget it. Leave it behind. The way I see it..." He pointed at himself, jabbing himself in the chest. "I get to make up for it. I got the best part of your life. All the really important stuff, that's in my paws. And you know what? Instead of trying to decide whether or not your dad meant what he told you in that letter, about having your best interests at heart, you can just thank him. Because if none of that shit would've happened, then I wouldn't have met you. And you know what, Jake?" His blue eyes pooled with tears. "You're probably the best part about my life."

Jake watched the tears fall down Chance's light furred cheeks in shock. "That..." He took a calming breath. "That isn't the alcohol talking? Is it?"

"Jesus Christ, Jake." Chance whispered and pulled the teen into a tight hug. "I would never say that if I didn't mean it. No matter what state of mind I'm in. I mean that to the core." He could feel Jake's smaller frame trembling. "Hey." He pulled back. "I wanna show you what I was doing."

"Besides getting wasted while I'm asleep?" Jake asked, quickly wiping his eyes with the back of his paw and then his nose with his arm.

"Besides that." Chance looked guilty. "Which, I promise, has never happened before. I just... you know... today was hard." He patted the album with a heavy paw. "I figured, since, you know, this is a family album, it was missing a few pieces. I hope you don't mind." He put the photo album in Jake's lap and quickly skipped to the middle. "Remember what you said last week? About how I'm old enough to be your dad if I would have had a kit in my teens?"

Jake nodded.

"Yeah. And remember how when we were going through your dad's place, I took all those pictures he had?" Chance laughed.

"Yeah." Jake replied.

"Well I mixed them in with mine. So look. I think I was about fifteen when this picture was taken. Check it out. That pretty little number right there with me? What a babe, huh? I took her to this Halloween party. Then she dumped me for a friend of mine." Chance laughed. "It's funny now. But it really pissed me off back then. Anyway... I figure that's about when your time line starts."

Jake slowly turned the pages, taking the time to look at Chance's teen years while looking at pictures of himself he'd never seen before. "I didn't even know these existed." He touched one of his mother holding him. It was similar to the one of Chance and his father, except that his mother was sitting at a piano and had him in her lap, seemingly guiding his tiny paws on the keys.

"She was gorgeous, Jake." Chance said softly. "Easy to see why it hurt so much losing her."

Jake shook his head. "I don't..." He let out a shaky breath. "I have trouble remembering her face sometimes. I can't even remember the sound of her voice." He didn't bother fighting the tears this time. "The only really solid memory I have of her is her suspended upside down, covered in blood."

"Jesus," Chance whispered. "Jake, that's awful."

"I know." Jake choked out.

"You need to keep looking through these. There are so many pictures of her with you!" Chance turned a page. "Come on. Look at this! She looks so happy right there!" He pointed at a picture of her, frozen in time while spinning in a circle, holding her son up in the sunlight. "I bet, if she was still here, you'd be such a mama's boy."

Jake laughed through his tears. "Like you aren't."

"Yeah but you'd be worse. I bet she would have written your name on your underwear." Chance teased.

Jake couldn't help but laugh again. "Maybe. But I would hope not."

"Oh and this one has got to be my favorite." Chance turned the page again, finding a close up shot of Jake. "You had to be three or four from my guess. Look at the grin!"

Jake felt his nose and ears blush. He stared at the picture of him flat on his stomach across a tire swing, dirt smudged across his copper fur and the biggest smile ever.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that." Chance sighed. "That must have been a really good day." They were silent for a few minutes while Jake kept looking. Another chuckle escaped his lips. "I see you put some that you took in here."

"Oh yeah! Look at you in your little karate gi about to kick some tail! God I'll never forget that day. What was his name? Francis? He talked so much trash about how he was going to give you the beating of a lifetime. It looked like he got his ass beat by a midget!" Chance laughed so loud.

"Yeah. Too bad I couldn't do that when I first got thrown into that mess." Jake said.

"Yeah." Chance smiled. "Remember we got ice cream after?"

"Yeah that was crazy." Jake laughed. "Those she-kats at the ice cream parlor thought I was the cutest thing."

"And they were hot too." Chance reminisced. "Too bad you were just a kitten. We could have double dated."  
"Chance, I don't even think _they_ were old enough to date." Jake joked.

"Yeah maybe not." Chance scratched his chin. "You know what I should get?"

"What?" Jake asked as he kept looking at photos. He hadn't realized Chance had taken so many pictures. And some had to be taken by Rita.

"I should get a video recorder." Chance said. "There's just so much stuff I wish I had on tape so I could just watch it over and over again."

"Like what?" Jake asked.

"Like some of your piano recitals. Your mom would be so proud I bet." Chance pointed out. "Oh! And that time you spent two days in the R&D department just building the craziest paintball gun ever? You tore us up with that thing. I don't even know what to call it."

Jake laughed. "I never came up with a name. What did I call it? A modified air-soft machine gun or something? I was so bored and they were so afraid to let me touch anything because they still thought I was a liability."

"That's when Feral got the idea to actually put you on the firing range. That got you in the air, kiddo." Chance reminded. "And I will _never_ forget the first time I took you up in an F-14."

Jake groaned. "My _stomach_ won't ever forget that. It was so much fun for the first twenty minutes. And then you started showing off."

"Heh. Yeah." Chance smiled. "I remember the first time you made it through the best of my moves without puking."

Jake smiled broadly. "Now _that_ was definitely a good day."

"Now if you can just learn to take the G's without passing out on me, then we'd be good, huh?" Chance teased.

"Hey I'm working on it." Jake defended.

"Yeah." Chance agreed. "You are. You're doing good too."

"Yeah." Jake repeated.

"Jeez. It's, like, almost 4 in the morning." Chance said. "You should get back to bed. I'm going to clean up in here and do the same." He stood up and held out a paw for Jake.

Jake took it without thinking and felt himself pulled into another tight embrace. "I don't want you to forget this conversation, Jake. I meant everything I said."

"I'm not the one that was drinking." Jake replied, resting his forehead against Chance's warm chest.

"I'd have to drink a helluva lot more to not remember tonight." Chance confirmed. He rested his chin on Jake's head. "You're a good kit, you know that?"

"So you keep telling me." Jake mumbled.

"I mean it." Chance said. "Now go on. Before Charlie gets up thinking it's breakfast time or something." Without much thought, he gave Jake a light, paternal kiss on the top of his head. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Chance." Jake replied with a smile. "I'll make sure to have the aspirin ready for you when you get up."

"Chance Furlong does not get hangovers." Chance said proudly, walking away. "Unlike _someone _else who can't hold his liquor."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Trust me when I say I don't plan on working on my tolerance any time soon."

"Good." Chance said seriously. "That's good to know."

* * *

**_Excited? =D _**


	37. Boys Of Summer

_**This chapter was inspired by my life in a small country town. And my Granny who used to say some of the funniest things.**_

* * *

"As soon as we get done here, we're going back home to get our stuff and the dog and then we'll be on our way to pick you up." Chance said into his cell phone, leaning against the cool brick exterior of the building that housed Jake's orthodontist. "No Mom, everything is already packed." He heard the door open and found himself on the receiving end of a very unpleasant glare from his favorite teenager. "I gotta go. I'll see you in about an hour." He rolled his eyes. "Love you too." Chance pocketed the phone. "Did they fix that wire that was stabbing your cheek?"

"Yeah." Jake replied quietly. "Please tell me you didn't pack the aspirin."

"What else did they do?" Chance asked, reaching for Jake's face to see for himself.

Jake pulled away, giving him his best 'don't touch me' look. "They tightened something up. Now my head feels like it's in a blender."

Chance frowned. "If I can't find it, we'll pick you up a bottle on the way to get Mom."

"Thanks," Jake mumbled and started for the car, his flip flops slapping the pavement loudly. Chance followed behind him, pressing the UNLOCK button on the keyring once they were near the black SUV. Jake opened his door and let out a hiss as a wave of heat hit him. "It's not even noon yet." He complained. "How can it be this hot?"  
"It's going to be hotter out in Pawline." Chance reminded. "You did pack your swim trunks, right?"

Jake rolled his eyes and fastened his seat belt. "Yes."

"And your sneakers? Not those stupid converses that slide on everything."

"Oh my god, Chance." Jake leered at him out of the corners of his eyes. "Yes. I packed everything I was supposed to. And I am bringing my converses no matter what. I've got the stupid normal sneakers that don't look good with anything I own. And I've got my swim trunks even though we aren't going somewhere with a pool or the beach. So just... stop."

"Okay." Chance chuckled softly. "What about...?"

"No." Jake interrupted. "I totally just forget it and you can pack it for me when we get home."

"Your little video game... thing." Chance sighed.

"It's charging right there." Jake pointed at the console and the cord plugged into the cigarette lighter. "Anything else."

"Yeah. You're getting morphine instead of aspirin." Chance teased.

"Don't make promises if you aren't going to keep them." Jake pouted.

"That bad?" Chance sounded more sympathetic than he looked.

"How about you let me glue a wire to your teeth and tighten it up every month or so. It's the slowest form of torture ever. I don't even know what the point is." Jake ranted. "And what's this about needing to have an 'extraction'?"

Chance winced. "I was waiting to tell you. It won't happen until the braces come off."  
"You're an evil, sadistic kat, Chance." Jake hissed.

* * *

Jake picked Charlie up out of his lap and slid out of the car. "You're getting kind of heavy, girl." He complained, leaving the passenger door open for Rita as he got into the back.

"You remembered your tools?" Rita asked as she slowly got in, Chance shutting the door for her.

"Yeah. You didn't see the enormous tool box taking up half the room in the trunk?" Chance joked.

"I was too busy trying to fit my things in there too. You know, if it was going too be cramped, you could have said something. I would have driven myself." Rita looked behind her. There were only a couple of things in the backseat and then behind that she could see all the luggage, leaving just enough room so Chance could see out the back window.

"It's not cramped. Jake has plenty of room back there." Chance replied, choosing instead to take that route instead of explaining how he just felt better knowing she wasn't taking such a long drive by herself. "Alright. Everyone ready?"

"Let's get this show on the road." Rita smiled, excited about a 'family vacation'.

"Jake? You good? Did you take something for your head?" Chance asked.

"Affirmative," the teen mumbled quietly, his head already resting against the cool window, ear buds ready and plugged into his new toy so that he could listen to his own music and possibly take a nap.

"Right." Chance winced at the irritable tone.

* * *

"Oh." Rita looked up from the book she'd been reading about an hour into the drive. "You boys did pack something nice to wear like I asked, right?"

"Yes we did." Chance confirmed. "And I packed half of Jake's clothes just to make sure he got that too." He shot a look in the rear view mirror. "Is he asleep?"

Rita slowly turned in her seat to look behind her. Jake was asleep with one foot up and resting against the backs of the seats, another in the floor and Charlie snoring against his thigh. "Oh yeah." She chuckled. "Out like a light."

Chance allowed himself an amused snort as well. "So me and Jake are gonna get to work on the yard at Grammy's when we get there and you're going to the store?"  
"If you don't mind me driving your car." Rita replied.

"I'll send Jake with you to help." Chance said. "They still just have that little general store?"

Rita laughed. "Chance, that little town will always be that... a little town. It's like they are trapped in time. That's why Grammy Furlong loved it. Nothing ever changed. Well, aside from getting electricity and indoor plumbing. They still do the town picnic thing and the fireworks." She went on talking about how much fun it was going to be.

Jake made a disgusted face and pushed Charlie off his lap. "Stop," he moaned when she continued to lick a spot on his cargo shorts. He felt the SUV hit a patch of rough road and got a suddenly sour taste in his mouth. Jake swallowed forcefully. "Chance," he said. "Pull over."  
"What?" Chance looked behind Rita to see Jake hunched over, an arm across his stomach and his fist pressed against his mouth. "Shit." He looked to the right, finding nothing but guardrail with no room on the shoulder for more than a motorcycle. "Hang on." Chance slammed his foot down on the accelerator, clearing the bridge and hitting his blinker as soon as he neared the shoulder on the other side. Then he hit the brakes. Jake felt Charlie brush passed him as he got out.

"Is he alright?" Rita asked, opening her own door as soon as Jake started heaving.

"Did you seriously just get carsick on me?" Chance asked as he came around the car.

Jake shook his head, leaning against the car while he heaved near the tire. "Well..." he spat to get the taste out of his mouth. "You know your short cuts..." he joked, trailing off as more of his breakfast decided to abandon ship.

"Ma, grab my water, will you?" Chance asked.

Rita complied, handing the drink to Chance and proceeding to rub Jake's back with her paw. "Why didn't you say something if you didn't feel well? We would have left tomorrow instead."  
Jake took a swig of Chance's water and swished it around his mouth, trying to clear the partially digested food out of the metal in his mouth, and then spat it out on the ground. "I feel fine." He leaned with his back against the car. "It was just this stupid headache." Jake complained. "It's better now, though." He started to hand the water back to Chance.

"I'm not drinking your backwash from that." Chance crinkled his nose in disgust. "You can keep it."

"Right." Jake took a cautious sip. "Where's Charlie?"

Chance turned to look for the black puppy. "CHARLIE!" He shouted before whistling loudly. There was a series of excited barks and some rustling in the trees before she came bounding out happily. "You think you can keep that down?"

Jake nodded. "I really think it was my head, Chance." He cleared his throat and spat again. "That plus the sun pretty much cooking me through the glass and Charlie laying on me."

"Yeah." Chance agreed. "Well we're about halfway there. You think you can make it the rest of the way or do you want to stop and get something?"

Jake shook his head. "I'm okay. I swear."

"You sure?"

Jake frowned. "Chance. Seriously. I'm fine. Now, anyway."

"Alright." Chance pointed into the car. "Let's get going."

The remainder of the trip slipped by without event. Jake had removed the head phones from his game and the muffled sounds of gunfire drifted up to the front seat to blend in with the classic rock playing on the radio. Chance couldn't keep himself from singing along to 'Bad Company' and 'Sultans Of Swing'.

Jake looked up from his game when he felt their speed drop and the road become increasingly rough. "Are we there yet?" He couldn't resist.

"Another fifteen minutes." Chance replied, giving Jake a 'please don't start that' look in the mirror.

"Sweet." Jake breathed. "I'm _soo_ hungry."

Rita made a 'hmph' sound but didn't say anything. She slid the piece of paper into her book to hold her spot. "How much of your summer reading do you have left?"

"I've got two books left." Jake replied. "Then I have to write essays on three of them. I can't remember the topics."

"Did you bring them with you?"

"He's not doing homework on vacation." Chance interjected.

"Right." Jake agreed. "Besides, we're only here for a week. I have another month and a half before I need to even think about school. Well, except football practice starts two weeks before registration."

"Oh that is right." Rita turned to look at Jake, twisting to try and see him behind her. "What position did you get put in?"

"Aw come on, Ma." Chance smirked. "He's small, quick. What do you think?"

Rita sighed loudly. "Chance, as much as I loved to watch you play ball when you were in school, I don't know enough about the sport to know who does what."

"Wide receiver." Chance replied.

"Now that was always the thing to do even when I was in high school." Rita smiled. "Friday night football games with my friends."

"Well, Jake's playing for JV so the games are going to be on Thursdays." Chance reminded.

"Doesn't mean he can't go to the varsity games." Rita huffed. "Maybe he could ask one of the cheerleaders out and it could be a date."

"Jake's not going to ask a cheerleader out." Chance laughed.

"Why not?" Jake interrupted, sounding off put.

"Well, because you're you." Chance stated. "I mean, come on, Jake. The only girl I've seen you show interest in is as far from cheerleader as they get."

"So?" Jake huffed.

"I just don't think they're your type." Chance replied.

"Um well as long as she's a girl and she's cute then she's my type." Jake rolled his eyes. "I could totally date a cheerleader."

"Yeah. And that will last however long it takes you to realize she's a complete airhead." Chance laughed.

"Didn't say it would work out with one." Jake smirked. "Just that I could date one."

"Chance, you're about to miss your turn." Rita pointed out the window.

"Shit." Chance swore, hitting the brakes at the same time his mother cuffed him behind the ear. "Sorry."

Jake scrambled to keep his game from going out of his lap. He looked up at the old farm house and then out at the tall, uncut grass. "Why does this look like the scene from a horror movie?"

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Chance answered.

"Yep." Jake frowned. "That's the one."

"Oh would you two just stop it?" Rita sighed and dug her keys out of her purse. "I'll go unlock it. You two start bringing our things up to the porch."

Jake slipped his feet back into his flip flops and got out. At least the dirt driveway was visible among the overgrown weeds. Charlie ran after Rita, barking from the porch while she unlocked the house and nearly tripping her to go inside. Jake squeezed his eyes and tried to shut out the string of unladylike curses followed by a sharp yelp before Charlie came back out, her head ducked in apology.

"Don't give me the puppy eyes." Chance glared at the dog. "You shouldn't get under her feet." He turned to look at Jake. "You got it? You need help?"  
Jake shook his head. "No Chance. I think I can handle some suitcases on my own." He was using his backpack for some of his things and had slipped that on before grabbing a couple of suitcases, using the one that was on rollers to carry a third. "There's one left." He told Chance as he went inside.

"Then go get it." Chance replied, moving all the luggage into the foyer. Jake ignored him as he headed through the kitchen. Rita passed him in the large doorway. "Are you going to the bathroom?"

Jake nodded.

"Something's wrong with the faucet. The hot water side isn't working." She told him. "Is that all of it?"  
"Jake said there was one more." Chance replied, going back out into the bright afternoon sun. "You don't know if the air works upstairs, do you?"

"I don't know. I know there are only units in two of the rooms up there." She began opening windows to air out the musty old home.

"I'll take one without the air." Jake said, coming back out to finish unloading the car. "I can't sleep if it's cold."

"Jake, it's going to be like an oven upstairs." Chance deposited the bag of dog food into Jake's waiting arms.

"I'll just leave the window open or something." Jake shrugged.

"You sure?" Chance looked uneasy. "I don't want you getting overheated like you did on the way here."

"I didn't get overheated." Jake replied, going inside.

"Alright." Chance dragged a paw across his forehead. "Everything's put away. I'm going to change and see if I can get that old lawn mower started. Jake, will you..."

"Yeah. Give me a second and I'll help you." Jake replied, starting for the stairs.

"No. Will you ride with her to the store so you can help her?" Chance gave him a pleading look.

"Sure." Jake hid his disappointment.

"Thanks. You can help me when you get back. If I'm even started by then." Chance patted him on the back.

"That refrigerator is clean and ready for some food." Rita came out of the kitchen and held out her paw for the keys.

"Why don't you let Jake drive?" Chance pulled them out of his pocket.

"Because he doesn't have a license." Rita reminded.

"He'll probably get his permit this year." Chance told her. "Besides, there's never any traffic out here. He'll be fine."

"And it's not like I haven't driven that car before." Jake added, taking the keys.

"Oh alright." Rita sighed. "Just don't scare me."

"Rita," Jake looked hurt. "This is me. Not Chance."

She put her paws on her hips. "I'll have you know that I taught Chance how to drive."

"Which is probably why he wants me to take you to the store." Jake joked.

"Don't you get cheeky with me, boy." Rita glared, a sparkle in her eye as she swatted him with her purse. "We'll be back in a little while." She told Chance.

"Well now that wasn't so bad." Rita climbed out of the SUV.

"I told you." Jake smirked. "So... this is the store, huh?" He eyed the row of rocking chairs in the shade and the window chalk proclaiming tomatoes $0.89 a pound.

"It sure is. I wonder if Mr. Dalton still owns it." Rita said as she pushed open the door, jingling the bell tied to the hinge.

"Good afternoon!" An enthusiastic female voice greeted them from behind a counter lined with stools. "How are y'all doing today?"

"Just fine, sweetie." Rita picked up a basket and handed it to Jake. "Carry this for me, please?" She walked up to the counter. "Hey honey. Can you tell me if Mr. Dalton still manages this store?"

The sandy brown she-kat smiled even brighter. "That's my grandfather. And yes he does. Would you like me to get him for you?"

Rita's eyes brightened. "I sure would."

"I'll be right back." She smiled and disappeared into a door that read 'Employees Only'.

"Well isn't she cute?" Rita winked at Jake. The door opened back up and the young she-kat returned, followed by a solid gray tom, walking with a hunch and leaning on a cane.

"Can I help you folks?" He asked in a deep voice.

"Hey there, Mr. Dalton. You remember me?" Rita asked.

Mr. Dalton laughed and winked at her. "Why I think I'd remember a pretty young thing like you ma'am."

Jake couldn't help but share an awkward look with his granddaughter.

"Why you haven't changed a bit, sir." Rita smiled. "Rita Furlong, and this is my grandson Jake."

Mr. Dalton took a moment to think before laughing loudly. It quickly turned into a cough. He cleared his throat. "Well I'll be damned. I haven't seen you since my sweet Deloris left us. What brings you here?"

"Well, Mable called me and said she wasn't so good. So, I figured I'd bring Chance and Jake up here for a week so we could see her." Rita explained. "We're staying at the old house and needed to get some groceries."

"Yeah. Yeah, I went to see Mable last week. I brought her some food. She doesn't have much left in her. You two are the last of the Bellclaws. I remember my father running you girls out of this store all the time when we were young." Mr. Dalton laughed. "Here. Let me help you get those groceries. Sandra, why don't you get this young fellow here some of our wonderful ice cream and tell him what there is to do around here." He took the basket from Jake and pointed towards the counter.

"So Jake," her smile turned to Jake. "What will it be? We have the best strawberry ice cream in all the world."

Jake ducked his head. "I bet." He looked at his toes nervously. "Got any chocolate?"

"Do I ever?" She laughed and pulled out a glass dish and began filling it with chocolate ice cream. "Whipped cream and a cherry?"

"Sure." Jake sat on one of the stools. "Wow that's... that's a lot of ice cream." He bit his lip. "You want to help me eat it?"

"Gee I don't know." Sandra handed him a spoon.

"Please?" Jake tried.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." She grabbed another spoon and came around the counter. "So, where are you from?"  
"Megakat City." Jake replied before taking a big spoonful. "This is really good." He said with wide eyes.

"Homemade." Sandra smiled. "My mother makes all our ice cream. You're from Megakat City? Wow. I see stories in the paper all the time about monsters and mutated plants and aliens. Is it really like that?"

"Sometimes." Jake swallowed another bite. "I mean, it's not, like, everyday or anything. Just, you know, maybe once a week someone decides the key to the world lies in destroying the city."

"That sounds so exciting." She gushed. "Nothing like that ever happens here."

"That's a good thing, right?" Jake looked at her in disbelief. "I mean, would you really want to worry about your homes being destroyed?"

"Well, no. I guess when you put it like that." Sandra looked away, embarrassed. "Have you been to the lake yet?"

Jake shook his head. "We just got here an hour ago."

"Oh." Sandra smiled. "You have to come to the lake. The water is so cool and everyone goes there. That's where the big picnic is after church on Sunday, well, near it anyway. You're going to be here for that, aren't you?"

"For sure." Jake replied.

"Good. I'll see you there." Sandra purred excitedly before stealing the cherry off the top of the sundae and then getting up.

* * *

Chance released his hold on the push mower and it shut off. He lifted his hat to wipe the sweat off his head and face. "You get everything you needed?"

"I sure did." Rita went around to the back to get the groceries, handing bags to Jake. Chance came over to help. "If you can just take those inside, then Jake can help you get this yard cleaned up. Did you check to see if the air works?"

"Yeah. The two upstairs work and then the one in the living room works too. I found a window fan for the kitchen to help in there." Chance replied.

"Where's Charlie?" Jake asked, setting down the bags.

"She's outside somewhere." Chance replied. "Probably found the creek."  
"You just let her run off?" Jake looked panicked. "Chance, she could find a snake or something and think it's a chew toy!"

"Relax." Chance rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding. Your lazy, spoiled little dog is upstairs, sleeping in your room."

Jake was visibly relieved.

"I should have gotten you a Pomeranian or something. At least then it would be a dog that's meant to be treated like royalty." Chance teased. "Go change."

* * *

The sun was setting by the time Jake finished cutting the rest of the yard. Chance was sitting on the porch with a glass of tea, waiting for him to finish. Rita was out there too, in the old porch swing. Charlie was chasing a grasshopper that had been disturbed by the lawnmower. She stopped trying to sniff it out and looked up at Jake, her floppy black ears bouncing as she ran towards him and then back to the porch. "You missed a spot." Chance teased.

Jake dropped onto the steps next to him and took the waiting glass of tea, downing it at once. "Then you get it."

"Leave him be, Chance. You did a nice job, Jake." Rita complimented. "I got some steaks if you wouldn't mind grilling them, son. Jake, Chance broke the shower head, you're gonna have to take a bath instead."

Jake looked down at his dirty, sweaty arms and paws and the grass clinging to the fur on his exposed shins. "I might need to take two."

"Well you go ahead and do that. I'm going to start heating up the grill." Chance patted him on the knee. "The yard looks good, kiddo." He stood up and went for the bag of charcoal Rita had picked up at the store.

* * *

Jake kicked the sheets off and rolled over, glaring at the window in the dark. It was unbelievably dark without any street lamps or light pollution. On top of that, the air was so stale and heavy. Even Charlie had abandoned the large bed for the cool hardwood floor. He let out a frustrated groan and pulled off his boxers, kicking them to the floor where the rest of his clothes rested. "Much better," he mumbled, pulling just the thin sheet over him enough to keep him from being exposed, leaving it so that he was relatively uncovered. Finally, he was able to fall asleep.

* * *

Aunt Mable's house was very similar to Grammy Furlong's. Someone had been taking care of the yard, though. And flowers were planted along the porch. Jake hung back nervously. He was never really sure how to act around the elderly.

"Mable?" Rita called out as she entered the house. It was clear she'd had an actual air unit installed at some point during her lifetime as the house was nice and cool. "I'm going to look upstairs. Jake, don't touch that. It's older than all of us put together."

Jake drew his paw back from the intricately carved mirror hanging above the fireplace. "It smells weird in here," he whispered.

"Yeah." Chance agreed. "Hey at least she has a TV."

"You think she'd mind if I turned it on?" Jake wasn't sure why he was still whispering.

"I'll ask when she comes down." Chance was whispering as well. "I hope she's not dead."

Jake looked back up at Chance with shock. Then they heard Rita talking, broken up by the sound of a cane on the stairs.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming, little sister?" Mable's old voice cracked. "I would have made some tea."

"I told you yesterday we would come see you once we got settled in." Rita helped her oldest, and only remaining sibling, down the stairs. "You remember my son Chance?"

"Oh my. How could I ever forget that chubby face of his." Mable hobbled right over to Chance and looked up at him. She was a foot and a half shorter than her nephew. "Just look at you." She patted him on the cheek. "Give your auntie a kiss now."

Chance stooped and gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Aunt Mable," he said politely.

"And who is this handsome little devil?" She quickly abandoned Chance for Jake, reaching up to pinch one of his cinnamon furred cheeks.

"Aunt Mable this is Jake."

"Just look at your color. I bet your mother is one darling of a she-kat." Mable continued her assessment. "A bit on the thin side, though. That's not typical of a Furlong."

"Well I..." Jake started to explain that he wasn't actually related to Chance.

"No matter." Mable seemed oblivious that he'd started to speak. "Why don't you get a candy out of the dish over there? Rita, Chance. Sit down. Turn on that television set." She started to hobble to the kitchen. "I'll get us some tea."

"Oh let me do that, Mable." Rita hurried to help her.

Jake eyed the expensive looking crystal dish on an end table and looked back at Chance as if asking permission.

"She'll think you're rude if you don't take one." Chance whispered, looking for the remote. "Oh you have to be kidding me." He shook his head and walked over to the TV, turning the knob. "I didn't even know they still existed like this. I hope you like soap operas."

Jake carefully lifted the lid. "Oh she has the good stuff, Chance." He hissed, taking a couple pieces of chocolate and a butterscotch.

"Really?" Chance reached for a piece.

"Now Chance. Leave those for the boy." Mable said from behind him. "Here. Set that tray right on the table, Rita."

Chance shot Jake an envious look before sitting down.

"There we go. You drink up." Mable settled into a large old padded rocker. "I am just so glad to see you. Now why didn't you tell me Chance had found a she-kat?"

Rita shot Jake a look as if asking for permission. He gave her a subtle nod and took a gulp of tea, eyes nearly popping out at the amount of sugar he tasted. "Well, Chance hasn't exactly met the right one yet. Jake's adopted."

"Well my goodness." Mable gasped dramatically. "Tell me dear, what happened?"

"Well, it's a long story. But Chance met Jake while he was in the Enforcers. And, well, Jake's father wasn't exactly, you could say, involved. And, long story short, Chance was able to get custody of Jake. How old were you when you met Chance, baby?"

Jake forcefully swallowed a caramel and peanut chocolate covered candy. "Ten, I think." He looked thoughtful. "Maybe nine."

"No you had to be younger than that." Chance looked thoughtful.

"I got my masters degree when I was eight." Jake said quietly. "That's when my dad started talking about the Enforcer Academy."

"So you were about to turn nine." Chance nodded his head. "Jeez, it's already been five years since that?"

"You have a master's degree?" Mable blinked in disbelief.

"Yes ma'am. In Aeronautic Science and Advanced Physics." Jake replied.

"Well isn't that something." She smiled. "Look in that little wooden box next to the candy dish, boy."  
Jake carefully opened the hinged lid.

"You see that little toy block in there with all the different colors? My son gave me that about twenty years go. See if you can figure it out. I could never do it." Mable pointed a wrinkled gray paw.

Jake pulled out the cube and shot Chance a sly look. "Gee, I dunno. This looks kind of hard."

"Well you take a crack at it while we catch up." Mable leaned back in her rocker. "So you're staying for the week? Chance, you remember your cousin Stephen?"

Chance nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"His bike is out in my barn. Why don't you give it to Jake and let him get out of your hair for a while. You know it can get kind of boring around here." Mable started to get up. "I'll get you the key."

Rita and Mable talked for another hour while Chance watched an old rerun of a show that didn't come on much anymore. Finally, Rita stood up. "Well we should get going. We'll see you at church, won't we?"

"Of course you will." Mable stood up to give her a hug. "You'll come see me again this year, won't you?"

"I will, sis." Rita promised.

"And you, get you a nice she-kat." Mable gave Chance a tight hug. "And tell that boy of yours to pull his damn britches up. I don't know why these kittens are wearing them so low like that."

"I'll keep on him." Chance smirked.

Jake held out the solved puzzle. "Would you like me to put it back in the box?"

"Well tie me to a pig and roll me in the mud!" Mable laughed. "You hang on to that, boy. I never could figure that thing out."

* * *

Jake arched his back into a wide stretch and laid down on the porch, his feet on the steps below. He inhaled the strong smell of country ham and could hear it sizzling through the screen door.

"Jake! Breakfast is ready!" Chance called from inside the house.

Jake sat up slowly and looked around for Charlie. She came running through the yard, carrying a stick that seemed too big for her. "Drop it," he said as she got to his feet. When she tilted her head in confusion, Jake tried a different tactic. "Food."

She dropped the stick and ran to the door.

"So you gonna check out the lake?" Chance asked, dropping a spoonful of butter into his grits.

"I was thinking about it." Jake replied, tearing off a piece of ham and slipping it under the table where Charlie was waiting.

"Jake stop giving table scraps to that dog before she gets worms or something." Rita scolded.

Jake gave her a horrified look.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat.

"Just be back here by seven." Chance told him. "And wear your sneakers to the lake. The ground can be kind of slick."

Jake rolled his eyes.

Once breakfast was done, Jake went upstairs to put on his swim trunks and then his baggy shorts over them. He then pulled on a loose fitted t-shirt and his sneakers. "I'll see you later, Chance." Jake called over his shoulder as he went out the door, excited to be allowed to do pretty much what he wanted, and hoping to see Sandra.

"Stay out of trouble." Chance said with a smirk as Jake ran out the door, Charlie on his heels.

"Think you can keep up with me, girl?" Jake looked down at the growing pup beside him. She barked excitedly. "Then lets go."

Jake hadn't actually ridden a normal bicycle since he was six or so, but they weren't lying when they said you never forgot how. He pedaled up to the general store, where he asked Mr. Dalton the best way to get to the lake. Sandra wasn't there.

Jake's ears perked up at the sound of laughter and water splashing as his bike bounced on the loose ground. He squeezed the paw-brakes and pushed it over to a covered picnic area. Excited, Charlie barked and took off running towards a group of kits. They seemed to be all different ages. Jake smiled when he saw Sandra turn around. He waved and she smiled brightly and ran over to him.

"Hey! You came!" She was wearing a one piece swimsuit and her light brown fur glistened in the sunlight. "Is this your dog?"

"Yeah." Jake scratched the back of his head nervously. "This is Charlie."

"Aw. Hey Charlie." Sandra knelt in the sand to pet the puppy. "You're a good boy."

"Girl." Jake corrected.

"Girl? But Charlie's a boy's name." Sandra looked confused.

"It can go both ways." Jake explained.

"That's what I hear about the boys in the city." A taller boy joked. "I'm Blake." He held out his paw. "You must be Jake, 'the boy from the city'."

"Yeah." Jake held out his paw. "And I definitely don't go both ways."

"Relax. I'm just messing with you. We were just about to try out this rope we hung up." Blake pointed at a tree with long thick branches extending out over the water.

"Now that looks like it could be fun." Jake grinned.

"You wanna be first?" Blake asked. "Unless your scared."

"I don't even know the meaning of the word." Jake replied, winking at Sandra before pulling off his shirt and shucking the shorts covering his swim wear.

* * *

"This looks like a good place for lunch." Rita pointed at the picnic tables. "I knew we'd find that boy here."

Chance eyed the secondhand bike and then jerked his head in the direction of a loud shout, followed by a splash. He set the picnic basket on the table. "You think he'll be mad if we eat here?"

"Why would he?" Rita asked.

"I dunno. I don't want him to think we're spying on him." Chance shrugged.

"He'll be fine." Rita opened the basket and pulled out the sandwiches. "Especially when he sees we brought him lunch."

"BLAKE!"

Both Rita and Chance turned to see a small calico she-kat with red hair walking down the path, barefoot and paws on her hips. "Where is that damn boy?" She said to herself before shouting again.

"BLAKE LEE WILLIAMS GET YOUR TAIL OUT OF THAT WATER THIS INSTANT!"

Blake turned bright red, visible in his patches of white. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."  
"Whoa." Jake laughed. "Is that your mom?"

"Yeah." Blake looked down at the water. "She's kind of nutso since my dad left. I'll be right back."

"BLAKE!" One of his friends mocked. "BLA-AKE!"

"Shut your mouth, David!" Blake growled on his way up the beach.

"Oh." Jake winced speaking of family. He pointed at Chance and Rita. "I'm going to be right back." He pulled himself up onto the dock.

"Wait. I'll come with you." Sandra followed suit.

"CHARLIE!" Jake shouted and the dog swam to the shallow part and walked onto the beach, stopping in the warm sand to shake, sending a spray of water in all directions. "Come on girl."

"What the hell did I tell you?" Blake's mother shouted at her son. "I said 'take the trash out before you leave'. Do you know why I'm down here? Because you didn't take the trash out. I had to do it."  
"You came all the way here to yell at me for that?" Blake gave her a pleading look. "Can you just be normal for one day?"

Rita shot the boy a sympathetic look. "Melissa?" She interrupted and walked over to the redhead. "You're Melissa Summerton, right? Ashley's daughter?"

Blake's mother looked surprise. "It's Williams now." She corrected. "Or... at least until the divorce is final." Melissa attempted to smile. "Do I know you?"

"I used to babysit you. You remember me. Rita? You used to play with Chance before we moved." She pointed at her own son.

"Oh my goodness. Chance Furlong?" Melissa nearly giggled, forgetting all about her son and walking over to the picnic area.

"Thank you," Blake whispered in Jake's ear as he joined them. "Hey let me have one of those sandwiches."

Jake glared at the boy as he pulled his food from his paws. "Douche," he hissed, earning an unexpected thump to his ear. "Hey!"

"Don't say that." Chance warned before turning to get a good look at Melissa. "Jake didn't get your son in trouble did he? Because he does that sometimes."

"Oh no. Not at all. I'm not really mad. I was just..." Melissa looked away, embarrassed.

"Hey." Jake repeated. "I don't get anyone in trouble."

"Don't get me started." Chance smirked, a glint in his eyes when he looked back at Melissa.

"I know that look." Jake rolled his eyes. "It's the 'don't misbehave in front of a beautiful she-kat before I can impress her with my charm' look." He pulled another sandwich from the basket. "I'm kind of tired of swimming. You guys want to do something else?"

"Sure." Blake said and the three walked away from the picnic area. "I saw a baseball bat in the parking lot. It's empty enough. I think we could make a diamond."

"Sounds good to me." Jake grabbed his shoes and headed up the hill to the parking area.

"You know I don't even remember living here." Chance said.

"Oh, Chance, you were just a baby. Three, I think. It was right before your father got stationed in Megakat." Rita explained. "I used to babysit Melissa. You were.. five I think?"

"That's right." Melissa agreed. "And Chance used to get mad at me for trying to play with his toys."

Chance shook his head. "I don't remember any of that. But I'm pretty sure I would have shared with you."

"Oh stop." Melissa blushed. "So is there a Mrs. Furlong?"

Chance shook his head. "No. Not yet anyway."

"What a shame." Melissa said without any real feeling. "Are you going to be around for the fireworks Sunday night?"

"What the town picnic and all?" Chance asked. "Wasn't going to miss it. Will you be there?"

"I certainly will." Melissa smiled. It faded at the sound of glass breaking. "If I don't have to kill my son before then." She stood up. "BLAKE!"

Jake swung the bat hard, nailing the ball. In the most intriguing twist of fate, the ball soared across the parking lot, where it nailed a tree and ricocheted straight into the rear window of a faded red Honda. "Fuck," he hissed and dropped the bat.

"BLAKE!" Echoed through the trees.

"Uh uh!" Blake backed away. "I'm not getting my ass beat over this."

"Whose car is that, anyway?" Sandra asked, looking around. The other kits they'd been playing with had joined them. A chorus of "ooooh" came from the smaller ones and some laughing from the older ones. A tall, slightly older black furred tom, David, raised his paw. "That would be mine."

"Dude." Jake tried not to laugh. "I'm really, really sorry. I mean, what are the odds of that happening?"

"I mean..." He sighed. "I guess I could just put some tape over it or something."

"If you can't duct it..." Someone said.

"Fuck it." They all chorused.

"Caleb! I'm telling your mother!" Melissa hissed at one of the smaller kittens after hearing them all drop the 'F' bomb. "Blake, what the hell did you just do?"

"It wasn't my fault." Blake defended, smiling widely. "Honestly." He pointed at Jake.

"Aw come on." Jake pouted. "You'd rat out your friends that quickly?"

"We just met." Blake said, trying not to laugh.

"Who did what?" Chance asked, trailed by his mother.

"Oh my god." Jake sighed. "I mean, he's just going to put tape over it. I don't see why it matters who did it." He hung his head when all of his new found 'friends' pointed at him at once.

"You're still holding the evidence, bro." David replied.

Chance looked from the bat in Jake's paw to the trees. "I don't see what..." He trailed off as he looked around the parking lot. "Oh. Nice one, Jake. Your aim is usually better than that."

"Look, if it's that big of a deal, I'll pay for it." Jake's ears flattened against his head.

"Aw come on guys." The owner of the car laughed. "Get off his case before you make him cry or something. It's really no big deal. Look, last year, Blake launched a pumpkin through my windshield. At least this is somewhat normal."

"A pumpkin?" Jake blinked. "How?"

"Oh, David you _have_ to show him the pumpkin cannon your dad built." Sandra gushed.

"A pumpkin cannon?" Jake blinked again. "Where?"

David grinned widely.

"Um, hello!" Chance interrupted. "Jake! You broke his window?"

Jake nodded his head.

"Find out how much it's going to cost to fix it and settle it with him before we leave." Chance told him.

"Right. I was going to do that anyway." Jake said, matter-of-fact. "Can I please see this pumpkin cannon?"

"Sure. But you gotta clean the glass out of my car first." David smirked.

* * *

Chance looked at his watch. It was almost nine. "Where the hell is he?" He walked out onto the porch and sat on the steps. Rita followed him out and sat in her swing. "He probably just got caught up, Chance."

It was nearing 9:30 when Jake came pedaling up the driveway, Charlie walking tiredly behind him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Chance barked. "I told you to be home by seven."

"Yeah." Jake looked sheepish as he rested the bike against the house before coming onto the porch. "I kind of forgot to take my watch off and I lost it somewhere in the lake." He held up his bare left wrist as evidence. "Sorry." He moved into the porch light, revealing his dirty clothes and shoes.

"Wow." Chance's shoulders sagged. "What did you do?"

"Oh Chance. It was so awesome. You should have been there." Jake gushed and then proceeded to explain how the Pumpkin Cannon worked, and how there were spare parts so he put together something like a grenade launcher. "It was like a veggie war or something."

Chance looked disgusted as he pulled what looked like rotten tomato out of Jake's fur. "So, you pretty much had a food fight in the middle of someone's yard? Did you clean it up?"

"Yeah. That's what took so long. I knew it was getting late but we couldn't just leave David's backyard looking like a garbage disposal." Jake said. "You really aren't mad, are you?"

Chance looked as if he might be really angry for a moment and then started laughing. "Are you kidding me? Jake you just spent all day either swimming or playing baseball or... well the pumpkin launching thing isn't really normal, but you're finally doing normal teenager things. I'm not thrilled you broke someone's window. But hey, that happens. You had fun, right?"

"A blast." Jake grinned.

"Good." Chance patted him on the knee. "Go... take a bath or something."

"He isn't going in the house covered in rotten tomatoes." Rita warned.

"Well what do you want me to do?" Jake looked at her in disbelief.

"Backdoor is unlocked. You can go in that way and take a bath. Chance will bring you some clothes." Rita stood up to go inside. "I'm wiped out. This heat just takes it out of you."

* * *

"I mean, they do realize it's, like a hundred and twenty degrees?" Jake complained, tugging on his blue tie and giving Chance the most pleading look he could manage.

"I'm pretty sure they're aware." Chance had his paw on Jake's back and was directing him to a pew on the left. "Slide down to save a place for Ma when she gets done catching up with everyone."

Jake left plenty of room for Rita between himself and Chance but she came around the other side.

"Slide down, baby. I want you in the middle." Rita told him.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"Because I said so." Rita huffed. "Oh hey Mrs. Lawrence!"

Jake rolled his eyes as Rita leaned forward to talk to an older she-kat in front of him. "There's so many old kats here," he moaned. Chance jabbed his elbow into his side. "What? There are." Jake looked around the large, but quickly crowding chapel and smiled when he spotted Sandra in a blue sundress and a bonnet. She waved shyly before her mother swatted her and told her to sit.

Chance looked up when someone sat beside him. He smiled. "Come here often?"

Melissa chuckled. "Not often enough."

Jake leaned forward. "Hey can I move down near Blake?"

"No." Chance told him.

"Why not?" Jake asked.

"Because the last time you were with him, you broke a window." Chance hissed.

"He's the one that wanted to play baseball in the parking lot." Jake huffed.

"Jake, I don't care who wanted to do what." Chance glared. "Quit being a brat."

"Okay." Jake took a deep breath. "What if he just sat here and you two slid down that way we'd still be in the middle and you wouldn't be flipping out over it?"

Chance shook his head and looked at Melissa. "Would that be fine with you?"  
"Just as long as you'll smack him for me if he deserves it." Melissa smiled sweetly.

"I think you're my new best friend." Blake whispered. "So check it out." He stretched his leg out and removed a small game from his pocket. "Were you able to bring yours?"

"Yeah." Jake whispered back and carefully slid it out of his pocket. "And I've got the cable to connect them."

Rita settled back into the pew as the preacher started talking. She turned to look at Chance, to see if he was paying attention to the service and frowned at the two boys between them. "Jacob," she hissed and shook her head when he didn't pay her any attention, too involved in the video game. Rita snatched it from her paws, unaware that it was connected to Blake's. She held Jake's as the other hit the hard floor loudly.

"Oh for the love of..." Rita muttered, pulling the cord out and cramming the gaming device into her purse.

"Blake," Melissa growled. "Pick that up and hand it here."

Jake slid so that Blake could find his and pick it up.

"Sorry," he whispered as she snatched it from him and shoved it into her own bag.

Chance reached behind Blake and slapped the back of Jake's head.

"Jesu..."

Rita jabbed her elbow into his side. "Watch your mouth."

Melissa leaned forward so that she could whisper to her son. "Blake, so help me, when we get out of here, I'm going to whip you in front of this whole church."

Jake bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"And you too." Melissa hissed. "Don't think just because you aren't my son that you won't get in trouble with him. I won't go easy on you."

Jake's eyes widened at her tone. He had a feeling she was serious.

Chance gave Jake the same glare. "I'll let her do it." He whispered.

Jake fought the urge to remind Chance that he barely knew this she-kat. Life long connection aside, they were pretty much strangers. Still he let out a sullen sigh and slouched with his arms folded across his chest. "This is so boring," he thought.

Finally, the long winded sermon was over and the were allowed to leave the unbearably warm building. The moment they were outside, Melissa was on her son like white on rice. "What in the hell is wrong with you? Bringing a video game into church? That's just disrespectful." She pulled him by his shirt down the church steps. "Chance, Rita." Melissa turned at the base of the stairs. "I'll see you at the picnic. We're going to head home and change first."

"We're going to do the same, Melissa, dear." Rita smiled sweetly, her arm around Jake in a deceptively sweet manor. "You know what she's going to do to that boy once they're home?" She asked.

"Well she said something about whipping him in front of the whole church, but seeing as that didn't happen..."

"Jake." Chance hissed. "Don't get smart with her. What were you thinking bringing that to church?"

"That it was going to be really boring." Jake knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment he said it.

"She's going to whip him so hard he won't be able to sit for a week." Rita snapped. "Give me one good reason why I, or Chance shouldn't do that to you?"

Jake bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying "because you aren't my parents" simply because the rational part of him knew it would just be like throwing gas on a fire. He chose to remain silent.

"Ooh, If I was Chance I'd have half a mind to take a switch across your tail right here in the parking lot." Rita huffed. "Lord knows that's what I would have done to him."

Jake turned to look at Chance and found him walking off towards the car. His heart faltered when he noticed the dogwood near the SUV. For a moment, he thought Chance might actually pull one off and hit him. Instead, Chance hit unlock button and got in the car.

Jake nervously got in the backseat.

"Of all the immature stunts to pull. I just can't believe you would do that, Jake. It's just not like you. You aren't that disrespectful." Rita kept on her rant.

Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes, reaching to loosen his tie.

"Don't you touch that! I want pictures of you dressed up before you go change." Rita switched tones.

Jake couldn't help the chuckle the escaped from his throat.

"What's so funny?" Chance asked, glaring at him in the mirror.

Jake cleared his throat. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

It was nearly four in the afternoon by the time they got back to the church, whose sprawling open field was housing the town picnic. Now clad in a pair of black cargo shorts, flip flops and a fitted t-shirt with a faded vintage fighter plane on the front.

"Jake!" Chance grabbed him by the arm before he could dart off and find his friends. "Don't break any more windows, okay?"

"I won't. I promise." Jake laughed.

"And make sure you eat something." Chance pointed over towards several tents where grills were set up and several kats were cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.

"I will." Jake pulled away, rolling his eyes at the over protectiveness. He jogged off in search of Blake and Sandra, finding them on the hill. Sandra was sitting under a tree watching Blake, David and a couple other boys playing what looked like football but with a frisbee.

"There you are." Blake walked away from the game and slapped Jake's palm. "You didn't get beat too badly, did you?"

Jake smirked. "Not at all. You?"

"Lucky." Blake frowned.

"What are you guys playing?" Jake asked.

"Full Contact Frisbee." Blake grinned. "It's like soccer. Except you have a disc instead of a ball. Come on, let's grab some dogs and I'll tell you all about it." He looked around. "Speaking of dogs... where's yours?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "With Chance. I couldn't bring her unless she was on her leash."

"Yeah, they kind of frown on stepping in dog shit and having their food taken at these things." Blake walked towards one of the tents. "Hey Miss Lewis." He smiled at an elderly she-kat. "Don't eat her potato salad," he whispered as they walked by. "Or you'll be blowing chunks for two days."

Jake looked disgusted. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You know who has the best chili?" Blake grinned. "Pastor Wallace." He grabbed Jake by the arm and pulled him down the row of food.

"You boys aren't causing more trouble, are you?" The middle aged preacher had traded his shirt and tie for jeans and a polo shirt.

"No sir." Blake replied politely.

"Uh huh." Pastor Wallace said in disbelief. "And who is your co-conspirator, here?"

"Oh this is Jake. His family is visiting this week." Blake explained. "I was just telling him how awesome your chili dogs are."

"Help yourselves. There's plenty. Jake, huh? I believe I saw you with Rita. It's good to see her back in town. I guess that makes you Chance's youngin?"

Wanting to keep things simple, Jake simply said "yes sir" and helped himself to a couple of hot dogs.

"Alright." Blake said as he loaded his dog down with toppings. "So like I was saying about our game..."

* * *

Chance had tethered Charlie's leash to the leg of the picnic table. She whined and pulled, trying to get free and go after Jake. "Sorry girl." Chance patted her on the head, giving her a potato chip. "You can't just run free here like everywhere else."

"Do you see those boys up there on that hill?" Rita huffed as she sat down. "Jake's going to be filthy by tonight."

"He'll be fine." Chance took a big bite out of his hot dog, loaded down with mayonnaise, mustard, chili and cole slaw.

"And I do believe that pretty little Melissa has fallen for that Furlong charm." Rita chuckled, seeing the she-kat in question approach. She had changed into floral print sundress and let her curly red fur flow freely behind her. Chance swallowed his food, wiped his paws with a napkin and stood up.

"You weren't too hard on him, were you?" He asked.

"I've got to be hard on that boy." Melissa sighed. "He just doesn't think sometimes." She sat down beside Rita. "But never mind that now."

"Aren't you going to get something to eat?" Chance asked.

Melissa eyed the amount of kats filling their plates. "I'll wait a while."

"What do you want? I'll get it for you." Chance offered.

"Well if you're offering," she blushed. "Yours looks pretty good. Why don't you go fix me one?"

"Sure thing." Chance grinned. "The lady has good taste."

* * *

Jake panted and dropped to the ground next to Sandra. "That was fun."

She shook her head and continued to fan herself with an unused paper plate. "I really wish they'd just have this at the lake."

"We could go to the lake." Jake offered. "You can see it from here. And there's other kats down there. You can hear them."

"Oh my mother would be angry. And I didn't bring anything to swim in." Sandra blushed.

"What about what you're wearing?" He looked down at her soft cotton shorts and spaghetti strap shirt.

"I guess that could work. But I'd feel weird if it was just me and you." Sandra looked away. "No offense."

"None taken." Jake blushed. "I wasn't, you know, suggesting something like that, I was just thinking..." He looked around. "You know Blake would go for it. And David probably. And who's that other girl you were talking to?"

"Kayla?" Sandra replied.

"Yeah. Her. She could come." Jake gave her a sly look. "I'll just go grab Charlie and tell Chance I was going to take her for a walk and we could sneak down there."

"You are so sneaky." Sandra looked excited. "Alright. Let's do it."

Chance looked up to see Jake walking over to him. "What's up?"

"I was just going to take Charlie down on the other side of the hill so she could run around." Jake said, brushing some of the dirt off his arm. "If that's alright."

"Yeah that's fine." Chance stood up to untie her leash. "Go right ahead. Just make sure you have her back on the leash before you come up here."

"I will." Jake walked away from the table.

Chance watched him go back up the hill where his friends were waiting. "Why can't he make friends like that at school?"

Rita laughed. "Because you'd be pulling your fur out with him acting the way he has today."

* * *

Jake pulled off his shirt and emptied out his pockets, setting Charlie's leash with his wallet and cell phone, which didn't even get reception where he was. He looked at Blake, he was stripping off completely. "What are you doing?"

"Are you kidding me? If I come back with wet clothes, my mom is going to be furious." Blake looked genuinely worried. "You've never been skinny dipping?"

Jake shook his head.

Blake suddenly grinned. "Then I dare you to do it."

"No." Jake stood his ground.  
"Come on, Jake. You have to do it if it's a dare." David said, pulling off his shirt.

"No. I don't." Jake huffed. "But I'll lose the shorts and go in just my boxers if the girls lose their clothes too."

"That's not going to happen." Kayla said loudly.

"It's the same as a bikini." Jake insisted.

"He's got a point." Blake turned to look at the girls. "I'll leave my underwear on and not swim naked, if you girls swim in your underwear too. And Jake."

"I really don't want to be in the water knowing Blake's just, you know, hanging out there." Kayla looked at Sandra. The younger she-kat blushed deeply.

"Okay." She said finally.

Jake removed his belt and his shorts fell without much effort. The girls followed suit. Kayla laughed. "Nice training bra, Sandy."

"Shut up." Sandra hissed, clapping her paws over the small pink lacy bra.

Jake, Blake and David chuckled until Kayla pulled off her own top, revealing two barely restrained, perky boobs that seemed to bounce with every movement.

"Holy shit..." They mumbled in unison.

Kayla laughed lightly and pointed down. "Um boys. You mind telling your shorts that it's not polite to point?"

Jake cleared his throat, covering himself with his paws. Blake did something similar, but David, who was older, and, clearly, more mature, simply laughed.

"Only if you tell the twins to stop jiggling there, Kayla." David ran after her. "Want me to slap you with it?"

"Oh gross!" She laughed and ran towards the water.

With the tension broken, Sandy giggled and ran towards the water. "Are we going swimming or what?"

* * *

"Where the hell are they?" Chance asked, looking around. It was starting to get dark. The fireworks would be starting soon.

"I've got half a mind to go look for them." Melissa huffed.

"I think we should." Chance replied. "This isn't like Jake at all." He stood up and walked in the direction he'd last seen the boys. Melissa followed. As they passed over the hill, sounds drifted in from the nearby lake. Laughter, screams and splashing. Chance narrowed his eyes in the direction of the path leading through the trees to the shore front. "You don't think they would have taken off, do you?"

"Do you want an answer to that?" Melissa groaned. "Let's go haul them out."

* * *

Jake held his breath under the water while Sandra got on his shoulders. When he had his arms around her shins and was sure she wasn't going to fall, he stood up, sucking in a breath of fresh air as soon as he cleared the water. Then the wrestling match between Kayla and Sandra ensued. Jake dug his heels in to maintain his balance. "Come on, Sandra! Knock her off!" Jake shouted, feeling Kayla getting the upper paw. If Kayla won this time, that would make it 4 and 0. Where was Blake? He was supposed to be tickling her feet so she'd fall. Jake smiled when Kayla suddenly drove her foot into David's ribs.

"Oh MY GOD!" The shrill yell caught their attention. "SANDRA DEEANNE DALTON! YOUR MOTHER IS GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!"

"Oh crud." Sandra hissed, locking her leg around Jake as she started to fall, taking him under with her. They shared a look under the murky water, still hearing Blake's mother shouting, before coming back up.

Jake zeroed in on Charlie. Chance had already found her leash and put her back on it. Casually, he walked out of the water.

"I cannot believe you two girls! This is not how a she-kat behaves." Melissa clicked her tongue. "And you, David!" She sighed. "Well I guess we all expect this sort of thing from you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" The older teen glared. "For the record, getting the girls out of their clothes was _not_ my idea."

"Like you didn't hesitate to go along with it." Jake hissed, taking his shorts from Chance.

"Well I know that my son would never suggest anyone do anything like this." Melissa gestured towards her son, who was reaching to remove a piece of grass from Sandra's behind. She cleared her throat loudly.

"What?" He snapped back up. "She asked... I mean." He cleared his throat. "Totally not my fault."

Melissa turned her accusing eyes onto Jake, making him stumble while putting his own clothes back on. "What?" He asked, voice cracking. Two pairs of eyes glared at him while the rest tried to find something more interesting to look at. Jake sighed. "Yeah. It was my idea. But it's _way_ better than what Blake was suggesting."

"Which is what, exactly?" Melissa turned back to her son.

"That... we... should probably be heading back or we'll miss the fireworks?" Blake smiled innocently.

"That's a pretty good call." Chance smirked. "Maybe you should have that of that two hours ago."

"Not my fault the picnic was boring," Blake whispered to Jake as they started walking back.

"No shit." Jake hissed in response, only to have his head whacked by Chance. "OW!" He rubbed the base of his skull. "What the hell, Chance? Are you and Rita _trying_ to give me a concussion?"

"You're really on thin ice right now, Jake." Chance glared in the dark, handing the leash over. "You need to give her a bath before we leave tomorrow."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Blake asked. "That blows!"

"Blake!"

"Sorry." Blake flinched, expecting his mother to come at him.

"Yeah." Jake's ears flattened. He hadn't expected to have fun, much less make friends so quickly.

* * *

Rita looked up from the blanket she'd spread out so they could watch the night sky.

"I'm just saying," Chance could be heard talking as he was approaching. "You could have told me you were going swimming. I wouldn't have cared."

"You wouldn't have. But you would have told Blake's mom. And _she_ would have cared." Jake sulked.

"What did you now?" Rita asked, her voice lighthearted.

Jake sat down on the blanket only to have Charlie leap at him, trying to nip at his face. He fell backwards. "Nothing worth getting upset over."

"They went down to the lake." Chance said. "Apparently the picnic was boring. You should give Blake your cellphone number." He suggested. "And you never know, he and his mom might be able to come see us for a week."

Rita gave him a curious look.

"He's bummed out about leaving." Chance explained.

"Oh honey." Rita cooed. "Go ahead and give your new friends your number. You know we'll come back up here. And, like Chance said, you'll probably see them in the city."

"Yeah." Jake replied with little enthusiasm.

"Well go on." Rita urged. "While you still have time. You know we're leaving in the morning."

"I don't even have anything to write it on." Jake said, a slight whine to his voice.

"Please." Rita rolled her eyes and found her purse. "I have everything in here."

"Yeah. Including my game." Jake glared.

"And it's staying there." Rita returned the glare, handing him a sheet of paper and a pen. "Now go. And you better come right back. If Chance has to go looking for you again, you're gonna have a hard time sitting down for the trip home."

Jake rolled his eyes and got up. "Come on," he pulled Charlie a little just to get her attention.

Blake looked up from where he sat beside his mother at a picnic table.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing." Jake sat down. "I just, you know, thought it would be cool if we kept in touch. Maybe you and your mom could come to the city for a week or so."

"That would be awesome!" Blake's brown eyes lit up. "What about it, Mom? Could we do it?"

Melissa smiled softly at Jake. "As long as Chance doesn't mind."

"Are you kidding?" Jake laughed. "It was practically his idea." He quickly wrote down his number, then Chance's and the house phone. "I figured you'd want Chance's number." He told Melissa.

"Oh I expect him to call me." Melissa smiled. "He's got our number. You can get it from him."

"Okay." Jake looked nervous. "Do you know where Sandra is? I'd like to tell her bye."

"Can I go with him, Mom?" Blake asked.

"Come right back." She said.

"I will."

Blake navigated through the onlookers as the sky flashed with different colors and sounds. "There she is. Over there!"

Jake smiled at her as he approached. "I'm not about to get shot, am I?"

"What?" Sandra asked.

"You know, for dragging you off to the lake?"

"Oh. No. It's fine." Sandra looked down.

"I just wanted to say goodbye." Jake looked down as well. "I had a lot of fun."

"Will I get to see you again?" Sandra asked.

"Rita says we'll come back. So, yeah. Can..." Jake felt his cheeks burn. "Um... so.. could I get your number? You know? Before I leave?"

Sandra giggled girlishly. "Now that would get you shot."

"Oh. Right." Jake laughed, though it sounded more like her giggle than anything macho. "So.. I'll just see you here?"

"Yeah." Sandra nodded.

"Well, um, then..." Jake smiled. "Goodbye."  
"Bye Jake. I had fun this week."

"Me too." He waved again as he walked away. "Would her dad really shoot me?"

"It's not her dad you have to worry about." Blake answered.

"Oh." Jake mouthed. "So. This is it." He held out his paw.

Blake slapped it and pulled their paws together in some sort of shake. "I'll be seeing you."

"Yeah. I hope so." Jake smiled before walking away, Charlie pulling him as a smell caught her attention. He made it back to Chance and Rita without incident and dropped back down to the blanket.

"Don't forget what you're going back to, Jake." Chance said. "You're going to see Jason again soon. And with you playing football now, it's not like you're going to be short on friends."  
"Yeah. You're right." Jake turned his head to look at Charlie, rolling on her back in the grass. He reached out and scratched her belly. "And next year is going to be so much better than this year was."

"Damn right it will, kiddo!" Chance laughed, throwing his arms around Jake and driving his knuckles into his dirty hair.

"HEY STOP!" Jake cried out, squirming to get away. "CHANCE!" He let go of Charlie's leash to try and get Chance off of him. Hearing her master's shouts, she jumped onto him and began slobbering on his face with her big pink tongue. "Ugh!" Jake whined. "Not you too!"

Chance laughed and settled back, leaning on his paws. Jake remained on his back, letting Charlie lick him to death, his eyes settling on the elaborate fireworks filling the sky. Rita looked at her son and they shared a smile.

* * *

Chance pushed open the door to Jake's room and winced. Since he had the braces put on, Jake had started snoring unbelievably loud. He looked out the window at the sun creeping up over the horizon. It was going to be a long day. Chance clicked his tongue to get Charlie to wake up. Her head snapped up and she jumped out of bed. Chance watched her run out the door and down the stairs before sitting heavily on the edge of the large mattress. "Jake," he shook the boy lightly. "Come on. Time to get up."

Jake made a snorting sound before rolling his head towards the low voice. "Huh?" He blinked his eyes tiredly. "What?"

"Time to get up. We've got to pack and get the car loaded up so we can make it home before it gets too late." Chance patted his shoulder before standing up.

"Hey Chance." Jake slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "What I said last night. About how next year is going to be better. It will be, right?"  
"I guarantee it." Chance smiled brightly.

_**

* * *

The End. Of Part One. Soon to come: The Sophomore Year. **_

_**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews.  
I hope you enjoyed the first part of a, hopefully, four part series, and I can't wait to begin putting up chapters of Part Two.**_

_**Nyte Kat**_


End file.
